Left Behind
by ame3565
Summary: Sora, Riku, and Kairi travel to a new world at the king’s behest, but when danger unfolds, Sora is left behind while Riku and Kairi escape.
1. Chapter 1

Left Behind

Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts or any of its characters.

Pairing: Cloud/Sora, possibly Leon/Sora

Rating: M

Summary: Sora, Riku, and Kairi travel to a new world at the king's behest, but when danger unfolds, Sora is left behind while Riku and Kairi escape.

Warning: This story contains slash, meaning male/male relationships. Don't like it, don't read it.

**Chapter 1**

Kairi brought the king's message to Sora and watched over his shoulder as he read the missive. Sora's happiness at hearing from his friend, though, quickly turned to trepidation the longer he read. It seemed that King Mickey had run into a spot of trouble in a new world and needed Sora and Riku to lend their assistance.

Kairi, tired of being left at home while the boys went on an adventure, insisted on accompanying them, as well. Sora and Riku reluctantly agreed. Deciding to meet at the secret cave, they parted ways to make preparations for their journey. An hour later, they stood in front of the door that appeared in the cave years ago but had never disappeared when Sora had defeated the heartless.

Sora's keyblade appeared in his hand while a keyhole appeared in the door. Unlocking the door, Sora cautiously pulled the door open. He was shocked by what lay on the other side. A veritable wasteland expanded for as far as the eye could see.

"Are you sure you got the right place, Sora?" asked Kairi quietly, staring at the barren land and silently hoping that her friend had made a mistake. "It doesn't look like anything at all could survive out here."

"I don't know, Kairi," said Sora, stepping through the door and turning back to look at his friends. He gasped, however, when he saw the landscape past the doorframe. Lush foliage and a beautiful waterfall stood out in stark relief as the barren wasteland surround the small paradise. "Wow!"

"What is it, Sora?" asked Riku, coming to stand beside Sora. "What the hell is this place?"

"I wanna see, too" said Kairi quickly. "Oh, it's beautiful. And there's even a castle."

Riku and Sora hadn't even noticed the castle nestled snugly within the oasis. They were too preoccupied with trying to figure out how the oasis could survive in such a desolate place. It didn't seem possible that anything could grow out here.

"Let's go find the king," said Kairi cheerfully, eager to start her adventure.

They set off into the oasis, heading straight for the castle. They had almost reached the castle gates when shadows suddenly started to form at their feet, causing heartless to appear by the dozens. Sora and Riku immediately called their keyblades to their hands and hacked their way through the enemy, making sure to keep the shadows away from Kairi.

BR>

A shadowy figure watched the two fighters destroy the heartless from a magical orb shining brightly in the dark room. "Absolutely beautiful," he chuckled softly. "I will have that boy. It's always more fun to tarnish such innocence." He gasped lightly when Sora glanced sharply towards the tower of the castle, seeming to almost look directly at him. "Yes, he will make a wonderful pet."

The man covered the orb and swept from the tower. He had so many preparations to make for the arrival of his pet. Of course, he would have to dispose of the other two. They could very well cause complications if left unchecked.

The shadowy man stalked into the throne room and barked out orders for a room to be prepared for his anticipated guest. Once the servants were gone, he turned towards the silver haired man staring out the window. The shadowy man was surprised to see a look of recognision on the fallen angel's face.

"Do you know them, Sephiroth?" he asked curiously.

"The Master of the Keyblade and his lights," said Sephiroth softly. "The boy is indeed a formidable foe."

"Master of the Keyblade?" asked the man delightedly. "He will make a fine pet, won't he?"

"Pet, Xanthus?" asked Sephiroth, raising an eyebrow arrogantly.

Xanthus grinned and walked over to the far wall, pressing a pattern into the bricks. The wall suddenly shifted, creating a tall, narrow doorway. "Come see," said Xanthus eagerly. He turned and stepped through the doorway and disappeared into the darkness. He knew Sephiroth's curiosity would compel the man to follow.

The doorway lead to a staircase, spiraling down into the depths of the castle. At the bottom of the staircase, a row of cages lined the walls. The cages housed a variety of creatures, ranging from humanoid creatures to misshapen monsters. However, they all had one thing in common. They each wore a black collar with a silver lightning bolt around their necks.

"What is the purpose of these 'pets?'" asked Sephiroth disdainfully. He wasn't impressed by what he saw. If this was all Xanthus had, it was no wonder he was so eager to get his hands on the keyblade wielder.

Leading Sephiroth further down the hall, Xanthus stopped in front of, yet, another doorway. Throwing open the door, he revealed a huge underground arena. However, instead of a solid floor, the arena had small pools of water littering the surface, deceivingly hazardous if stepped in. Furthermore, a moat of murky water surrounded the arena, making escape extremely difficult.

"So you make your pets fight in the arena?" asked Sephiroth in a bored tone. If he wanted to see a battle, he could go to Olympus Coliseum. This was nothing.

"Not exactly," said Xanthus with a smirk. "Those creatures out there are not my pets. Just consider them cannon fodder, if you will." He practically skipped to a hidden door and slammed it open eagerly, showing a huge room with a large bathing pool in the centre. Several humans lounged around the pool, wearing little to nothing, and every one of them were absolutely gorgeous. They, too, wore collars around their necks, but these were gold with an emerald star. "These are my pets. They are the prize for winning my little tournaments."

"And you want the wielder of the keyblade to join their ranks? I would have thought you would pick the other boy for this role," asked Sephiroth in amusement. "Besides, it will never happen. The wielder of the keyblade would never submit to you."

"He won't exactly have a choice," said Xanthus smugly. "You see, these collars have a device that causes pain to the wearer every time they disobey an order. He'll learn to obey if he wants to survive."

"We'll see," said Sephiroth softly. That boy had a strength of will that amazed even him. For someone so young to come even close to defeating Sephiroth was astonishing, and yet, Sora had done exactly that. Oh well. It hardly mattered to him. He was just here until Cloud finally managed to find him again.

BR>

"We need to find the king and get out of here," said Sora somberly, causing Riku and Kairi to stare at him in surprise. "I have a really bad feeling about this place."

"Come on, Sora. You can't be that afraid of a few heartless," said Riku teasingly.

"It's not the heartless I'm worried about, Riku. There's something or someone in this place that makes my skin crawl. It's ten times more evil than mere heartless," said Sora gravely.

"You're just imagining things, Sora," said Riku dismissively. "I don't feel anything like that. Do you, Kairi?" Kairi just shook her head. "See, Sora?"

They continued towards the castle, keeping a wary eye out for more heartless. Surprisingly enough, the castle door was wide open. Kairi grinned and rushed into the castle, ignoring Sora's panicked cry to wait. Riku rolled his eyes and hurried after Kairi.

"And they say I'm impetuous," muttered Sora softly, following more cautiously after his friends. A sharp cry to his left caused Sora to hasten his steps. He ran into the room and saw Sephiroth holding Kairi off the ground with a hand around her neck. "Sephiroth! Let her go!"

"Ah, the little keyblade wielder," drawled Sephiroth coldly. "I would advise you to leave this place now, or you may not get the chance at all. After all, pets should be loyal to their master."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sora, staring at Sephiroth in confusion.

With a look of total indifference, Sephiroth tossed Kairi towards Riku and appeared directly in front of Sora. "Leave now!" he whispered harshly. "Xanthus wants to make you his pet!"

"Now, now, Sephiroth. Don't be giving away all of my secrets," purred Xanthus. He stood in front of the hidden door with several of his pet monsters surrounding him. "Kill them! All except for that one," he ordered, pointing to Sora. "Bring that one back alive and in one piece."

In a surprise move, Sephiroth grabbed Sora around the waist and they disappeared, appearing again outside the castle. Dropping his arm away from Sora, Sephiroth stepped back and disappeared once again, leaving behind a very confused brunette. Shrugging his shoulders at Sephiroth's weird behaviour, Sora started back towards the castle, determined to help Riku and Kairi, when his two friends ran out of the castle with several monsters on their heels. Riku grabbed Sora's arm as he passed and pulled the brunette along with him.

"There's too many of them. Just run, Sora," gasped Riku.

They ran back towards the doorway as hard as they could. Suddenly Kairi screamed, "Sora!" Sora turned around and saw one of the monsters dragging Kairi behind him. Summoning his keyblade, Sora killed the monster and pulled Kairi to her feet. He saw more monsters closing in, so he pushed Kairi forward and started running again.

Sora and Kairi reached the door and pulled it open. "Where's Riku?" asked Sora frantically. He pushed Kairi through the door and said, "I'll find Riku. Don't come back through this door, Kairi." Kairi nodded quickly, and Sora took off back the way he'd come, looking for his lost friend.

"Hurry back, Sora," whispered Kairi, watching the door intently.

Riku suddenly barreled through the doorway and slammed the door behind him. Turning quickly, he used his keyblade to seal the door. He'd seen Sora and Kairi reach the door, but he'd had to dispose of a few monsters before he could join them. He finally managed to clear a path to the doorway and had run for it.

"Riku, what are you doing?" screeched Kairi. "Sora's still out there."

"What!" yelled Riku. "I saw you both go through the door. How did he get back out there?"

"He went looking for you," snapped Kairi, pulling uselessly on the door. It refused to budge.

Riku frantically summoned his keyblade and tried to reopen the door, but it stubbornly stayed locked. "It won't open!" he said in frustration. "Dammit! We need to find a way to contact the king."

BR>

Sora watched in stunned disbelief as his best friend ran through the door and shut it behind him. The door glowed briefly and then disappeared in a flash. "They left me," whispered Sora numbly. "The left me behind to die here."

"Oh, you won't die, pretty pet," purred Xanthus, striding into the clearing where Sora was standing. "You'll be my most coveted prize."

"I'll die first," snarled Sora, summoning his keyblade and lunging towards the man.

"Well, the thing is, pet, you don't exactly have a choice in the matter," said Xanthus smugly. He backhanded Sora before the boy could strike and placed a collar around his neck while he was still dazed from the blow. Sora growled angrily and lunged towards Xanthus again, only to scream in agony as jolts of pain seared through his body. "See, Sora? You disobey me in any way, and those lovely jolts of pain are your reward." He grabbed Sora by the arm and dragged the boy to his feet. "We must hurry back, pet. I have to announce the next tournament, and when they hear what the prize for winning is, I'm sure this will be the fiercest battle, yet."

Sora just stumbled beside Xanthus in a daze. He couldn't believe that his friends had left him behind for him to be given to the winner of a tournament like some kind of prize. It didn't even matter that he could summon the keyblade because if he tried to use, that horrendous pain would just come back. Tears spilled from his eyes as he thought of what was to come. 'Someone, please help me,' he thought desperately.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Two weeks later

Cloud had followed Sephiroth to this barren little world with a single oasis. Of course, the man was probably long gone because he always managed to stay a few steps ahead of Cloud, but he may have left some clues as to where he was going. "Geez, this place is depressing. What could Sephiroth find interesting here?" he said softly. He entered the oasis and saw a flyer lying on the ground. He picked it up and glanced curiously at it. "Tournament at Xanthus arena. A prize worthy of the greatest king will be awarded to the winner: the legendary Master of the keyblade. Wait, 'Master of the keyblade?' Sora's here?"

Cloud checked the date on the flyer and cursed. He had thirty minutes to register for this tournament and he still had a ways to go. Taking off at a full run, Cloud reached the castle with five minutes to spare. He hurried to the throne room to register and cursed again. There had to be over a hundred people still in line.

"I don't have time for this," muttered Cloud, pulling his sword. "Get out of my way, or I cut you where you stand. I will be entering this tournament."

The smart ones immediately backed away from the blonde. The few who didn't, well, they didn't exactly have time to protest. Slashing through the more stubborn opponents, Cloud left them lying bloody on the floor and stalked towards the king. "I wish to enter the tournament."

"Eager, are we?" purred Xanthus delightedly. As he'd predicted, the very mention of Sora as the prize made for a very crowded tournament. It was too bad that he would be keeping his prize, wasn't it? Xanthus was the opponent for the final match, and no one had ever beaten him in combat. "In that case, your name, contestant?"

"Cloud Strife," said Cloud curtly.

"Well, Cloud, preliminaries start in ten minutes. Good luck," said Xanthus, handing him a letter with his royal seal on it. "Go through those doors, down the stairs, and down the hall to get to the arena. Don't die too quickly. You're too cute for that."

"I don't intend to. I plan on winning this tournament," snapped Cloud, stalking to the door Xanthus indicated. Making his way to the arena, Cloud eyed the cages with disgust. "I can't believe Sora ended up in this place. Why haven't his friends saved him, yet?"

Cloud entered the arena and stopped short. This place was absolutely huge, especially considering it was all underground. It was also packed to the ceiling, spectators in every available seat and some even standing. Apparently, the prospect of winning Sora appealed to quite a few folks.

CSL

Sora sat listlessly in his cage, feeling weak from hunger and sore from the jolts of pain that seemed to be a constant with him these days. He'd been in this cage for at least three days with one meager meal a day, and he was beginning to despair that he would ever get to leave. He was almost to the point of giving in to Xanthus' demands just to get out of this place.

Sora didn't even look up when someone unlocked the cage. The teen didn't so much as blink as the servant reached in and pulled Sora out of his prison, knowing that this was the end for him. He'd tried so hard to ignore the shouts and cheers ringing from the arena, but Sora just couldn't block the sound out. Now here he was being pushed into the bathing pool to be made presentable to the tournament's champion.

Sage briskly washed Sora's hair and slim body, firmly ignoring the subtle fear and helplessness radiating from the teen. He couldn't afford to sympathise with the pets. He quickly rinsed off the brunette and pulled the boy from the pool, wrapping Sora in a towel while he selected a suitable attire. Finally choosing a pair of shorts and a vest, Sage dried and dressed the listless teen, nodding in satisfaction at the provocative picture Sora presented.

A loud ringing sound alerted Sage of the time. Pulling Sora behind him, he hurried to the arena. The final match was about to begin and Sora's presence was required.

CSL

Cloud soared through the preliminaries and all the way through the semi-finals. Now he was preparing for his final match, and he was going up against Xanthus himself. As the countdown to the final match started, Cloud saw a man leading Sora to some seats placed right outside the arena. He almost choked in shock when he saw the boy.

Sora was now seventeen and had always been a cute kid with that spiky brown hair and big blue eyes, but now he was downright gorgeous. He'd grown a few inches and filled out some more, giving him a slender, toned look. And those clothes! Sora was wearing a pair of tight leather shorts that barely covered the curves of his ass and a black leather vest and nothing else but the collar.

The only thing that truly marred the picture of sexy provocation was the dull lifelessness in those usually expressive blue eyes. Sora stared straight ahead and didn't pay any attention to his surroundings whatsoever. He didn't even seem to recognise Cloud.

"Start!" shouted the announcer, startling Cloud out of his reverie just in time for him to leap back to avoid the sword swinging towards his neck.

Xanthus was incredibly fast, swinging his sword at a rate Cloud found difficult to parry. Xanthus drove Cloud back until the blonde had nowhere else to go. However, Cloud finally found opening when Xanthus lunged toward his chest by dropping to the ground and rolling behind the king, bringing his sword up and pressing it against Xanthus' neck as he knocked the other man's sword away. Xanthus bowed his head and dropped his sword, silently admitting his defeat.

"The winner of the tournament is Cloud Strife!" shouted the announcer, barely loud enough to be heard over the excited roar of the crowd.

Xanthus growled at losing his prized pet and stalked off the arena floor. Storming towards Sora, he grabbed the boy's arm and pulled Sora over to where Cloud was standing. "Cloud, this is your prize- the legendary Master of the Keyblade."

"For how long?" asked Cloud quietly, staring uneasily at the way Sora just stared at him blankly. What had this man done to Sora to make the usually vibrant boy so lifeless?

"The collar is spelled to remain on his neck for one year after ownership transfer. After that, you'll have to find another way to keep him. The collar can only be removed by me before the mandatory year is up, but I won't be removing it, so don't even bother asking. If you don't want the boy, I'll keep him here and award him to the next winner. If you do decide to keep the boy, you must take his virginity to assume ownership, otherwise, he will be unable to leave the castle without excruciating pain. Once ownership is transferred, he must obey your orders, or again, excruciating pain," said Xanthus calmly. "Do you intend to keep him?"

"Yes, I do," said Cloud softly, stroking a hand through Sora's spiky hair. "He's too worthy a prize to pass up." He thought of all Sora had done for him and just hoped that the boy would forgive him for what he had to do tonight. He also vowed to destroy this horrible creature in front of him for destroying such an essential part of Sora.

"Then Makili will show you to your room," said Xanthus with a tight smile. He turned and stalked off, leaving Cloud and Sora to follow the black haired servant girl.

"This way, sir," Makili said softly, keeping her head bowed to hide the huge grin on her face. She was silently cheering that the king had lost and poor Sora had been gifted to this kind young man. She had a feeling that the blonde knew Sora and would get the boy to safety.

Leaving Cloud and Sora in the room prepared for the champion of the tournament, Makili hurried to her quarters to tell her sisters the good news. They would all be overjoyed. It had just torn at their hearts to see Sora slowly lose the vibrant quality that had been so inherent in his nature. He had fought far harder than the other pets, almost dying twice from the massive amount of pain inflicted through the collar. Now, though, he seemed broken. Makili just hoped that the blonde man would be able to help Sora return to normal.

CSL

"Sora, can you hear me?" asked Cloud softly, gently stroking the boy's hair away from his face. "What happened to you? Where's Riku and Kairi?" That got a reaction.

Sora jerked at the names, anger forming in the lifeless blue eyes, until he was glaring at Cloud. Hearing his friends' names pulled him from his internal retreat, his haven to escape the torment. "They left me behind. They went through the door and sealed it shut so that I couldn't escape. How could they do that to me?"

"I'm almost positive they didn't do it on purpose," said Cloud assuredly. "Riku would never deliberately abandon you. He may have thought you had already gone through the door, and didn't realise that you hadn't until it was too late."

"But it's been so long, and they haven't tried to save me, either," said Sora stubbornly. He suddenly sighed and bowed his head. "Maybe it's better they didn't come back here. Xanthus would have just killed them, anyway." Sora looked up at Cloud, and it finally sank in just to whom he was talking. "What are you doing here? How did you get here?"

"I was following Sephiroth," said Cloud quietly. "I'm sure he was here, but I don't know if he still is. I just arrived today. He could be anywhere by now."

"Oh, yeah, he's probably gone by now," said Sora. "He betrayed Xanthus by helping me escape once. Of course, he probably did it because he wanted your attention focused on him, rather than helping me."

"Sephiroth helped you?" asked Cloud incredulously.

"Yeah, when Xanthus sent his monsters after us, he grabbed me and teleported me out of the castle. Then he disappeared again, and I haven't seen him since. That's it," said Sora, shrugging his shoulders lightly.

Cloud didn't know what to say about Sephiroth's uncharacteristic actions. The man was evil, so what did he have to gain by helping Sora? Filing that thought away in the back of his mind, Cloud turned his attention back to the present.

"Sora, you do realise what has to happen tonight, right?" asked Cloud hesitantly. "Xanthus said that the only way you'll be allowed to leave the castle is if I assume ownership of you, and to do that, I have to take your virginity."

"We have to have sex before I can even leave this place?" asked Sora incredulously.

"Yes, there's no other choice," said Cloud softly, feeling like he was betraying Sora by even suggesting the notion.

Sora saw the misery on Cloud's face and sighed. "Cloud, it's not your fault. You aren't betraying me in any way. In fact, I'm glad you're here."

"But this is something you should be doing with the one you love," said Cloud miserably.

Sora smiled softly and placed his hands on Cloud's cheeks. "In a way, I am. I may not be in love with you, but I do love you, Cloud. You've become my friend, and right now, that's enough." Leaning up on his toes, Sora pressed his lips against Cloud's.

CSL

"Are you sure this is the place, King Mickey?" asked Leon, climbing out of the gummi ship and scanning the landscape. "There's not that many places that Xanthus could hide Sora."

"I'm sure, Leon. Riku said that it was a barren wasteland with a single oasis," said Mickey confidently. "I don't know how they ended up here in the first place. That door should never have opened up here."

"Let's just find Sora and leave. This place is creepy," said Leon quietly.

They headed towards the oasis, watching their surrounding warily, and saw several flyers littering the ground. Leon bent down to pick one up and gasped. "King Mickey, it may already be too late. Sora is the prize for winning this tournament, but it started three hours ago."

"We'd better hurry then, Leon," said Mickey urgently.

They ran the rest of the way but found the castle completely closed off to all visitors. "Damn, now we'll have to find another way into the castle," growled Leon, wanting nothing more than to take the castle apart piece by piece for what its king had done to Sora.

Circling the castle carefully, they finally a little bolthole towards the rear of the castle. Leon and Mickey climbed through the hole and crept silently down the hall. Hearing voices at the end of the hall, they sneaked towards the source and carefully listened in.

"I can't believe I lost my prize to that little upstart. Now **he** gets to deflower my beautiful little virgin," raged Xanthus, pacing across the floor of the throne room. "The wielder of the keyblade was supposed to be mine."

"I'm going to kill him," whispered Leon angrily, starting forward to do just that. Unfortunately, though, King Mickey grabbed his belt and shook his head firmly.

"We need to find Sora first," said Mickey, pulling Leon away from the door. "We'll search each room if we have to." Leon reluctantly nodded and followed the king up the stairs.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: See chapter 1

Warning: Lemon in this chapter between Cloud and Sora.

**Chapter 3**

Cloud deepened the kiss, thrusting his tongue tentatively into Sora's mouth. The brunette immediately returned the gesture, tentatively twining his tongue with Cloud's and wrapping his arms around Cloud's neck. Cloud placed his hands on Sora's hips and pulled the teen closer.

Sora moaned, liking this kiss much better than the few that had been forced on him the last two weeks as part of his training. Xanthus had stolen his first kiss, slapping him when Sora had reflexively bitten Xanthus' invading tongue. The collar had caused Sora further pain by activating with a jolt of intense pain for harming his 'master.' Xanthus had then informed Sora that he would begin his training on learning how to pleasure his next master.

Sora had proved just how stubborn he could be during that two week training period. He'd almost died twice from the surges coming from the collar, but in the end, Sora had gotten his way. Xanthus had shoved Sora in a cage three days before the tournament and had only fed him once a day. The day of the tournament, Sage had pulled him from the cage and taken him to the bathing pool to prepare him for his presentation to the winner.

A finger rubbing across his right nipple caused Sora to moan loudly. He'd never imagined such a simple touch could feel so good.

"Feel good, Sora?" asked Cloud softly, pushing Sora's vest off and tossing it behind him. With that accomplished, Cloud quickly took off his own shirt and pushed Sora towards the bed. Once Sora was lying on the bed, Cloud said, "Then this will feel even better." He then leaned down and twirled his tongue around Sora's nipple, causing the brunette to cry out and arch upwards. Cloud bit down lightly around the erect little nub and tugged gently, smiling smugly at the pleasured scream that came from Sora.

Cloud released Sora's nipple and kissed his way down Sora's flat stomach, stopping at the teen's navel. He swirled his tongue around the indention, dipping in occasionally, until Sora was a moaning, quivering mass of sensation. Quickly pulling Sora's tiny shorts off, Cloud wrapped his hand around the brunette's hard shaft and licked the pre-cum from the head.

"Cloud!" cried Sora, spreading his legs and burying his hands in Cloud's spiky hair. He was lost in a sea of pleasure and reacting purely on instinct.

Cloud engulfed Sora's shaft in his mouth and sucked firmly. He wanted Sora to come like this first so that he would be completely relaxed for the actual penetration. Cloud wanted to hurt the boy as little as possible. Moving one hand down, Cloud circled Sora's entrance teasingly while he took even more of the teen's arousal into his mouth.

Sora gave a muffled scream and tensed as he came. Cloud swallowed Sora's release before releasing the teen and reaching over to the nightstand for the lubricant. Slathering his fingers with lube, Cloud started to prepare the teen.

Sora was practically boneless in his relaxed state.

Cloud carefully added a third finger and shuddered at the tight heat surrounding his fingers. He couldn't wait to be buried in that tight heat. Cloud quickly positioned himself at the teen's entrance and kissed Sora as he thrust slowly inside the brunette.

Sora hissed in pain as Cloud thrust into him, wincing as the burning pressure increased. Of course, after the last two weeks, this slight pain was nothing. Finally, though, Cloud was buried to the hilt, and Sora sighed in relief, relaxing in Cloud's arms and returning the kiss.

Cloud stayed still for a few moments, giving Sora time to adjust to his length, before pulling back and thrusting back inside. Gradually increasing his pace in response to Sora's cries and pleas for more, Cloud was soon slamming into Sora.

Sora wrapped his legs around Cloud's waist, pulling the blonde even closer, and arched his back as his orgasm built. When Cloud's hand wrapped around his length, Sora fell over the edge, screaming as his release hit.

Cloud cried out and thrust even harder, desperate to reach his own release. A few more thrusts and Cloud moaned as he climaxed. Cloud collapsed on top of Sora, too tired to even roll over. Sora didn't complain, though. He simply held on to Cloud as if the blonde was the only thing keeping him anchored to this world.

They didn't get to rest for long, however, because the bedroom door suddenly slammed open and someone shouted, "I'll kill you, you bastard," while another voice said, "Oh dear. It looks like we were too late, after all."

CSLS

Leon and Mickey each took a side of the corridor, opening doors cautiously and quietly in their search for Sora. Unfortunately, Sora wasn't in any of the rooms on that floor. They continued to the next floor, again with no results. However, when they reached the third floor corridor, they heard a muffled scream and went to investigate.

Leon opened the door and was shocked by what he found. Sora was lying on the bed with a blonde haired man lying on top of him, and both of them were naked and sweaty. The heavy scent of sex in the room told Leon exactly what he'd just interrupted, and he felt a rush of rage towards the man who had violated the teen.

"I'll kill you, you bastard," shouted Leon, starting towards the bed. He vaguely heard King Mickey say, "Oh dear. It looks like we were too late, after all," and couldn't believe the king was being so calm about this. The blonde on the bed quickly snatched the sheet up and covered Sora before scrambling off the bed to face Leon. Leon got another shock. "Cloud? You did this? How could you do that to him?"

"Leon, he didn't have a choice," said Sora, carefully sitting up on the bed and blushing the whole time. He winced slightly as his ass throbbed and sharp pains shot up his back but quickly shoved the pain aside in favour of making a few explanations to the irate brunette in front of him. "This was the only way to transfer ownership from Xanthus to Cloud."

"What do you mean, 'transfer ownership?' You're not a slave, Sora," said Leon heatedly, stubbornly ignoring the collar wrapped around the teen's slender neck. 'It's just an accessory,' he silently insisted.

"Yeah, well, this collar says otherwise, considering the fact that only Xanthus can remove it, and I don't know about you, but I don't relish the thought of staying here with Xanthus when I could leave with Cloud.," snapped Sora irritably. "The point is, though, that none of this is Cloud's fault, so back off."

"We'll worry about this later, Leon," said King Mickey quickly. "Let's just hurry up and get out of here. We don't want to alert Xanthus of our presence."

"Fine!" growled Leon, glaring at Cloud. "Get dressed!"

Cloud stared pointedly at Leon until the brunette finally rolled his eyes and turned his back to the blonde. Cloud quickly pulled on his pants and tossed the shorts over to Sora. When they were both dressed, Cloud pulled Sora towards the door. Leon's jaw dropped when he saw what Sora was wearing. When the hell had Sora grown up to look like **that**?

"What the hell are you wearing, Sora?" asked Leon incredulously, having a hard time pulling his eyes away from all that exposed pale skin. Those shorts should be outlawed!

"It's either that, or he has to go naked, Leon," snapped Cloud, feeling an unaccustomed jolt of jealousy at Leon's perusal and pushing Sora behind him protectively. "He was the prize for winning the tournament. What did you expect?"

"Can we please just go?" asked Sora quietly, trying to avert another argument. "I really, really don't like it here."

Leon just nodded curtly, took off his jacket, pulled his shirt off, and handed it to Sora. "Here, put this on," he said gruffly, pulling his jacket back on.

Sora smiled gratefully and put the shirt on, laughing self-consciously when the shirt practically swallowed his smaller frame, coming to rest mid-thigh. Not only was he still several inches shorter than Leon, he was also more slender than the other man. "Thanks, Leon," said Sora quietly.

Nodding once again, Leon brushed past Cloud and walked out the door. Sora grinned and followed the older man, feeling more like his old self again. Cloud rolled his eyes at Leon's attitude and hurried after the others.

CSLS

"So he thinks to leave without claiming his pet," said Xanthus softly, glaring as Cloud, Sora, Leon, and Mickey ran silently down the corridor. "We'll just see about that." He recovered the orb and hurried from the room. He had a pet to reclaim. The blonde had had his chance, and now it was his turn.

Xanthus reached the castle entrance just as Sora and company reached the foot of the staircase. "Ah ah, naughty pet," said Xanthus. "You can't leave the castle if you haven't been claimed, and since Cloud doesn't seem to want you, you are now my property once again."

"What are you talking about?" asked Sora in confusion. "Cloud did claim me."

"I don't believe you! There wasn't enough time for him to have taken your virginity. Not with these fools barging in on you," snapped Xanthus harshly. "Come here, pet." If Cloud had really claimed the keyblade wielder, the boy would be free to ignore the demand.

"I don't think so," said Cloud, pulling Sora into his arms. "The boy belongs to me now. A year, wasn't it?"

Seeing no pain on Sora's face at disobeying his order, Xanthus glared at Cloud. "Yes," he said through gritted teeth. "Of course, there are some other things you need to know about your new pet." He smirked at the wary expressions on everyone's faces. "You see, Sora was gifted as a pet, a pleasure slave if you will."

"Pleasure slave?" asked Leon angrily. "You didn't." He pulled his gunblade and stepped towards the smug king, wanting nothing more than to rip the man's spine out for reducing Sora to this. Fortunately for Xanthus, Mickey once again intervened by stepping in front of Leon. "You bastard, how dare you do this to Sora."

"What is he talking about?" asked Sora in a whisper, feeling Cloud stiffen behind him.

"That means, dear Sora, that you must have sex at least once a day until that collar comes off," said Xanthus gleefully. "If you don't, the collar will react the same as if you were disobeying a direct order, intensifying in pain until the order is carried out."

"But it's never done that before," said Sora in bemusement. "Why would it do so now?"

"It only comes into play once you've lost your virginity while wearing the collar," said Xanthus.

"Does it have to be with me, or will anyone do?" asked Cloud, thinking of his relationship with Aerith. To save Sora's life, she could forgive his infidelity once, but not even she would be able to forgive a year of fucking someone else.

"You have to fuck him at least once a day. You're his owner," said Xanthus calmly. "Whether you allow anyone else to fuck your pet is your prerogative." He relished the stunned and horrified looks, smiling brightly in response. "Now you may take your pet and leave this world. You are no longer welcome here."

Sora was horrified at what Xanthus had just told them. Not only was his life just ruined, he'd managed to ruin Cloud's life in the process. Sora knew that Cloud was in love with Aerith, and now the blonde was stuck with him for an entire year. No one was that damn understanding. He was so lost in thought he didn't even notice Cloud pulling him out of the castle. He wasn't really aware of anything until the gummi ship landed.

"Sora, we're home," said Leon gently, pulling the boy to his feet.

Sora looked at his surroundings and realised they were back in Hollow Bastion, or rather Radiant Garden now. He looked past Leon and saw Aerith and Yuffie smiling and waving at them. Just like that, the full impact of what Xanthus had said hit him, and Sora's knees buckled. He couldn't do this. Didn't Cloud deserve to be happy, too? Why did this have to happen?

"He should have left me behind, too," whispered Sora hoarsely.

"Don't say that," said Leon harshly, shaking the boy's shoulders. He couldn't stand the thought of this beautiful boy being forced to serve someone like Xanthus.

"Don't you understand?" asked Sora miserably. "Cloud will lose his light because of me. I didn't just ruin my own life. Oh no, I had to go and drag Cloud down with me."

"It will all work out in the end, Sora. Just believe in that," said Leon softly, dragging Sora over to the rest of the group.

Aerith and Yuffie immediately hugged the boy, unknowingly causing the boy's misery to deepen. Leon kept his arm around Sora as they walked to Merlin's house, afraid that Sora would do something drastic in his current state. He couldn't help but be angry at Cloud for ignoring the boy now that Aerith was around.

"Leon, is there anyway I can take a bath?" asked Sora, blushing slightly at the reason he needed another bath.

Leon caught the blush and wanted to hit Cloud again. Keeping a firm reign on his temper, though, Leon nodded and showed Sora to the bathroom. "I'll see if I can find you some more clothes."

Sora nodded and turned the water on, watching morosely as the bathtub slowly filled with water. Turning off the water once the tub was full, Sora took off the shirt Leon had let him borrow and unbuttoned his shorts. A gasp and a squeal from behind him caused him to spin around, automatically assuming a defensive stance. Once he realised that it was just Yuffie, he immediately relaxed. Maybe he shouldn't have, though. Yuffie was staring at him like she'd never seen him before, and Sora didn't like the look in her eyes.

"Sora, where have you been hiding this delicious body?" she asked, raking her eyes down his body once more. She even licked her lips lustfully.

"Yuffie!" cried Sora, grabbing up Leon's shirt and holding it in front of him like a shield. 'God, now I'm acting like a damsel in distress,' he thought disgustedly. "What are you doing in here?"

"Well, I was bringing you some more clothes, but now I'm thinking you'd look better without them," she said cheekily.

"Yuffie, that's enough," said Leon.

"Oh, you're no fun, Squall," muttered Yuffie, laying the clothes on the sink and stomping from the bathroom.

"I'll make sure you aren't disturbed, Sora," said Leon quietly, keeping his eyes firmly away from the delectable body in front of him. "Enjoy your bath." He shut the bathroom door and leaned against the door, keeping watch as promised.

CSLS

Cloud watched Sora whisper something to Leon and follow the man out of the room. He was tempted to follow them, but Aerith latched onto his arm and pulled him into her room.

"I missed you, Cloud," she said, smiling sweetly at the blonde. "What took you so long?"

"I was chasing Sephiroth, and then I had to rescue Sora," said Cloud cooly. "Aerith, we need to talk."

"It sounds serious. About what?" she asked.

"Sora belongs to me and we have to have sex every day," he said quickly, turning his face away from Aerith.

"What do you mean Sora belongs to you?" asked Aerith incredulously. "And you're having sex with a 17 year old boy? But I thought.. what about us?"

"The only way to rescue Sora was to participate in a tournament where he was awarded to the winner. Xanthus, the man who captured Sora, basically turned him into a sex slave. Sora and I had to have sex so that the collar would recognise me as his master so that he could leave the castle. But now that it has recognised me as Sora's master, we have to have sex at least once a day or it causes Sora severe pain," Cloud explained grimly.

"And just how long is this going to last?" asked Aerith quietly, wringing her hands together.

"A year," said Cloud somberly.

"I can't do this, Cloud," said Aerith tearfully. "I can't be with you every day while you go to Sora every night. I'm sorry, but I just can't. I'll be leaving in the morning."

"Aerith, I.." said Cloud, trailing off when he couldn't find what to say.

"Goodbye, Cloud," she said, brushing a gentle kiss across his lips before running out of the room.

"Dammit!" he yelled, slamming his fist into the wall. He wanted to hate Sora for putting him into this position, but he couldn't. It wasn't Sora's fault any more than it was Cloud's fault. And judging by the look on Sora's face earlier, the teen was already feeling guilty enough without Cloud adding to it. All he could do now was make the best of a bad situation.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Sora relaxed in the tub, feeling his exhaustion weighing heavily on him. The last two weeks seemed almost surreal to him, as if none of it had ever happened. His thoughts then turned to Riku and Kairi, wondering how they were doing. Did they miss him? Were they worried? His exhaustion finally overcoming him, Sora drifted off to sleep in the warm, soothing water.

_Dream_

_Sora watched in stunned disbelief as his best friend ran through the door and shut it behind him. The door glowed briefly and then disappeared in a flash. "They left me," whispered Sora numbly. "The left me behind to die here."_

_"Oh, you won't die, pretty pet," purred Xanthus, striding into the clearing where Sora was standing. "You'll be my most coveted prize."_

_"I'll die first," snarled Sora, summoning his keyblade and lunging towards the man._

_"Well, the thing is, pet, you don't exactly have a choice in the matter," said Xanthus smugly. He backhanded Sora before the boy could strike and placed a collar around his neck while he was still dazed from the blow. Sora growled angrily and lunged towards Xanthus again, only to scream in agony as jolts of pain seared through his body. "See, Sora? You disobey me in any way, and those lovely jolts of pain are your reward." He grabbed Sora by the arm and dragged the boy to his feet. "We must hurry back, pet. I have to announce the next tournament, and when they hear what the prize for winning is, I'm sure this will be the fiercest battle, yet."_

_Xanthus dragged Sora down to the pets' quarters and tossed him inside. "This will be your new home for now. Your training will begin tomorrow, so rest up."_

_"Training?" asked Sora curiously. "What kind of training?"_

_"On pleasing your new master, of course," said Xanthus with a smug grin. "Haven't you already guessed, dear boy? Your virginity is the true prize for winning the tournament."_

_"You have got to be kidding," said Sora, staring at the king in shock. "What makes you even think I'm still a virgin?" he asked, trying to bluff his way out of this mess._

_"You have the whitest and brightest aura I've ever seen, pet. That in itself indicates physical and spiritual innocence," said Xanthus somewhat dreamily. "It just begs to be tainted."_

_Flash forward_

_"Your first lesson will be on kissing," said Xanthus, overseeing Sora's training personally. After all, he planned on winning the tournament so that he could keep his pet, so the boy may as well learn to please him first. He suddenly grabbed Sora and covered the boy's lips with his own, thrusting his tongue quickly past the gasp parted lips to explore the warm depths of Sora's mouth._

_Sora instinctively bit down on the tongue raping his mouth and pushed desperately against Xanthus' chest to escape. As Xanthus snarled in pain from the bite, Sora cried out and fell to the floor as intense jolts of pain seared through his body._

_"Make him practise_ _with the other pets," growled Xanthus, wiping the blood from his lips as he glared down at Sora. "He has two weeks to get ready."_

_Flash Forward_

_Sora woke to someone gently washing his face. Blearily opening his eyes, he saw a pretty servant girl sitting on the bed beside him. "Who are you?" he asked bemusedly. He tried to sit up and hissed as his entire body protested the movement. Then he remembered why he hurt so much. He'd tried to stop one of the guards from raping this girl._

_"My name is Makili," she said softly. "Master Xanthus ordered me to wash you before your next lesson." She bit her lip nervously and bowed her head. "Thank you for saving me yesterday. It's_ _my fault you were hurt in the first place."_

_"Hey, no," protested Sora. "It wasn't your fault, either. I'm just glad you're all right. My name's Sora, by the way."_

_"How did you end up here, Sora?" asked Makili curiously._

_"My friends and I were on a mission for King Mickey, and that bastard, Xanthus, decided to make me his pet," said Sora, wincing at the jolt of pain from insulting Xanthus. "Anyway, we were running back towards the door to our world when we got separated. I went back to find Riku, and he went through the door and sealed it behind him, leaving me behind. Now, apparently, I'm the prize for Xanthus' next tournament."_

_"You poor boy," said Makili gently. "I wish I could help you, but if I do anything against Master Xanthus' orders, he'll have my three sisters killed. All I can do is pray that a kind master wins the tournament."_

_"That's alright," said Sora softly. "Family is important. Take care of your sisters and don't worry about me. I'm sure I'll be fine." Of course, he didn't believe that at all. He would continue to disobey the king, and this blasted collar would eventually kill him. But this kind girl didn't need to know that, did she?_

_Flash Forward_

_"You may practise on me," said Xanthus with a smug smirk._

_"There is no way in hell I am putting any part of your body into my mouth. I don't care if it kills me," said Sora, biting each word through his gritted teeth. It was all he could do to keep from attacking the smirking king. The only thing that stopped him so far was the fact that small sparks of pain he felt now would spike dramatically if he did._

_"You'll do it, or you'll be punished," snapped Xanthus, quickly losing his smirk in the face of Sora's continued disobedience._

_"You'll just have to punish me because I refuse," said Sora calmly, glaring at the king._

_"Bring her in," snarled Xanthus angrily._

_Sora watched with mounting dread as the guard pulled a struggling figure in the room. "Makili!" he gasped as he recognised the girl. "What are you doing, Xanthus?"_

_"If you do not obey, every guard in here will use her body for their pleasure," said Xanthus smugly. "Now unless you want to watch the girl get raped, I suggest you start practising."_

_"You bastard," whispered Sora helplessly, stepping towards Xanthus and falling to his knees. He didn't see Xanthus nod towards the guards, giving them permission to use the girl anyway. Sora was unbuttoning Xanthus' pants when he heard Makili scream. He jerked around and saw one of the guards holding Makili down and ripping off her skirt._

_Sora was beyond pissed. Pushing Xanthus away, he rushed towards Makili, summoning his keyblade as he did, and hit the guard on top of her away with a well placed hit to the head. The pain kept rising, but Sora managed to push it back as he took out the last two guards. He helped Makili to her feet and told her to get out of there. She nodded gratefully and ran from the room while Sora turned to face Xanthus._

_Sora lunged towards Xanthus, rolling quickly behind the king, and hit him across the back with his keyblade, causing the king to stumble forward several steps. He had to shake his head and blink a few times afterwards, though, because he started to feel dizzy and unsteady. Once again pushing the pain away, Sora lunged towards the king again. This time he jumped to the right and hit Xanthus across the side of his head. _

_Xanthus snarled and turned around quickly to see Sora collapse to the floor with blood running out of his nose and ears. Now he had to summon the healer or the boy would die. Lifting the boy into his arms, Xanthus smirked in smug satisfaction. The wielder of the keyblade was a worthy prize, indeed. He wouldn't be broken easily, and that just made it more enjoyable._

_Flash Forward_

_'Dammit, I almost made it. How did he find me so quickly?' thought Sora, struggling to escape the guard's grasp. The pain was at an unbearable level now, and Sora was doing everything he could to keep his screams locked inside. _

_"Did you really think you could escape, pet?" asked Xanthus. "Even if you managed to escape the castle, you would die soon after you walked out the front door. You're actually lucky that you were caught before you could make it outside." Seeing the stubborn set of the boy's jaw, Xanthus turned to the guard. "Put him in the cage. We'll see how he likes staying there. Oh, and make sure he gets only one meal a day. Three days should suffice. That is, after all, the day of the tournament, and he has to be presentable to give to the winner."_

_The guard tossed Sora into the cage and slammed the door shut. Sora honestly didn't see what was so punishing about the cage. It at least got him out of his so-called training, and that was definitely a plus. That is until nightfall._

_Sora was rudely awakened by an arm reaching into the cage and stroking down his back. He tried to scramble away from the unwanted touch, but the cage was too small to allow escape. Fortunately, the arm's owner was content with just a few strokes before withdrawing. However, that was certainly not the only touch Sora was forced to endure. The only thing that saved him from any truly intimate touches was the fact that he had curled himself into as small a ball as possible directly in the center of the cage._

_Flash Forward_

_Sage lead Sora out towards the arena and settled him into the seats nearest the platform. He didn't even look at the fighters in the arena. He didn't care at this point. It didn't matter who won because the end result would be the same: he would be raped by the winner and either given back to Xanthus or forced to stay with his rapist._

_Sora ignored the screaming crowd as the fight ended. He didn't even blink when Xanthus dragged him towards the rostrum and handed him over to someone else. He vaguely heard his new owner say something to Xanthus and felt a hand brush through his hair, but it wasn't enough to draw him out of his catatonic state._

_"Sora, can you hear me?" Sora twitched slightly at the sound of his name. "What happened to you? Where's Riku and Kairi?" His friends' names snapped him out of his catatonia with a jolt. How did this person know Riku and Kairi? _

_Sora finally recognised the man standing in front of him and glared. "They left me behind. They went through the door and sealed it shut so that I couldn't escape. How could they do that to me?"_

_Flash Forward_

_The bedroom door slammed open and Leon shouted, "I'll kill you, you bastard!" Sora was unbearably relieved to hear that particular voice. Leon had always looked after Sora, ever since they'd met really. And Leon's arrival meant that he was finally going home._

_Sora couldn't help but blush as Cloud scrambled off the bed and tossed him a sheet. He heard Leon ask, "How could you do that to him?" and felt a warm glow inside at Leon's outrage on his behalf. "Leon, he didn't have a choice," he said quietly. He winced and carefully sat up, blushing as his throbbing ass left no doubt that the past hour had really happened. _

_Sora quickly dressed in the shorts Cloud tossed him and allowed Cloud to drag him towards the door. He saw Leon's shocked stare and almost laughed. Sora was embarrassed at having to wear the revealing clothes, but the look on Leon's face almost made it worth it. He was immensely grateful, though, when Leon gave him the shirt he was wearing._

_Flash Forward_

_"Sora was gifted as a pet, a pleasure slave if you will. He must have sex at least once a day until that collar comes off."_

_Those simple words brought Sora's reality crashing down once again. He wasn't going home. That thought reverberated through his brain continuously. He looked at Cloud and saw a look of such desolation that it took his breath away. How could he have forgotten about Cloud? Sora was racked with guilt. Cloud and Aerith would never forgive him for this._

_Leon pulled him out of the gummi ship, and Sora realised they were back in Hollow Bastion. He saw Aerith standing with Yuffie and smiling brightly at them, and his knees buckled. He couldn't do this. How could he face her when his very presence was going to hurt her so much?_

_'He should have left me behind, too," he thought sadly. Leon suddenly grabbed his shoulders, shaking him hard, and said, "Don't say that." Sora hadn't realised that he'd said that out loud, but it didn't negate the truth behind the words. "Don't you understand?" he asked miserably. "Cloud will lose his light because of me. I didn't just ruin my own life. Oh no, I had to go and drag Cloud down with me."_

_"It will all work out in the end, Sora. Just believe in that," said Leon softly. Sora wanted to believe that, but he wasn't so sure anymore._

End Dream Sequence

Sora jerked awake and realised that he had tears running down his face. He covered his face with his hands and sobbed brokenly. No, he didn't believe that this would work out in the end. How could it? Too many people had been hurt because of him, and he had no way to even try to make things better.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Riku, are you sure you want to do this?" asked Kairi worriedly, watching Riku toss his supplies onto the raft. "I really don't think it's gonna work. It didn't exactly work the first time around, remember?"

"We never actually tried the raft last time, remember? Besides, what choice do we have, Kairi?" asked Riku heatedly, tightening the ropes one last time. "It's been two weeks sent we sent that message, and we haven't heard from King Mickey at all. Who knows if he even got our letter? Messages in a bottle aren't exactly the most reliable form of communication. Aren't you worried about Sora at all?"

"Of course, I am, Riku. But we should have faith that our friends are doing their best to help," said Kairi softly. "I'm sure King Mickey is doing everything he can to help Sora." She looked at the sky and prayed for that to be true. Suddenly a flash of light streaked across the sky, heading directly towards them. "Riku, did you see that?"

"See what?" asked Riku distractedly, checking the raft to make sure he had everything he needed.

"There's something headed straight for us," said Kairi urgently, pulling on Riku's arm to get his attention. "Look!"

Riku looked in the direction Kairi indicated just in time to see the gummi ship materialize over the water. The little ship then shot forward and landed in the sand mere feet from them. "A gummi ship? Maybe it's Sora," said Riku eagerly.

The ship opened and a very familiar duck waddled down the stairs. "Kairi, Riku, the king sent us to fetch you. He and Leon went to rescue Sora and wants us to meet him in Hollow Bastion."

"I think you mean Radiant Garden, Donald," said Goofy, coming up behind the duck. "Hey guys."

"So Sora's alright?" asked Riku eagerly. He was almost desperate to find his friend, feeling an overwhelming guilt for Sora's current plight. If only he had made sure Sora was with them before sealing the door.

"I'm sure he must be with King Mickey and Leon there to help him," said Goofy reassuringly. "Now come on. We've gotta get goin'."

Riku and Kairi followed Goofy and Donald onto the gummi ship, eager to see their friend again.

LSC

Leon watched Aerith hurry from her bedroom, tears streaming down her face, and silently cursed this whole situation. He felt bad for Aerith and Cloud because it had taken them so long to get to this point only to have everything ripped away by an unfortunate turn of events. However, that didn't excuse the way Cloud had treated Sora since they'd left that horrible world. Leon just wished that he could have arrived earlier and won the tournament. That way he could have saved Sora, and Cloud and Aerith could still be together. He ignored the tiny voice in the back of his mind whispering the real reason he wanted to win that tournament. He'd always had certain fascination for the teen keyblade wielder, and that fascination had only grown with the teen's growing maturity.

"Is he still in the bath?" asked Yuffie worriedly, suddenly appearing at Leon's elbow and startling him out of his thoughts. "It's been an awful long time, hasn't it? You don't think he drowned, do you?"

"No, I'm sure he's alright," said Leon calmly. "Why don't you go check on Aerith? She's pretty upset right now."

"I can imagine," said Yuffie somberly. "What happened to him, Squall? He's not the same kid I remember."

"I don't know what all he's been through the last two weeks," said Leon gravely. "We'll just have to help him through this as best we can."

Yuffie nodded and disappeared as silently as she had appeared.

Cloud suddenly stormed out of Aerith's bedroom and caught sight of Leon. Stalking up to the brunette, he demanded, "Where's Sora?"

Leon raised an eyebrow at Cloud's tone and didn't say anything, merely nodding back towards the bathroom door. Cloud started to barge into the bathroom, but Leon blocked his way. "He's taking a bath, Cloud. You should give him a little privacy."

"It's not like I haven't seen it all before. After all, my dick was up his ass just a few hours ago," said Cloud crudely, wanting to take his bad mood out on someone. Before he could say another word, though, Leon reared back and punched him in the jaw. Stumbling back a few steps and rubbing his sore jaw, Cloud glared at the brunette. "What the hell was that for?"

"Don't you dare treat Sora like that," hissed Leon furiously. "He is not some little whore that you can play with however you like. That boy has done too much for us for you to treat him like that. He's risked his life time and time again for us, and he deserves at least your respect."

Cloud's earlier anger bled quickly away. Leon was right. He started to apologise but a sound coming from the bathroom drew his attention. It sounded like someone crying. He started towards the door only to find that Leon had already entered the bathroom and pulled Sora into his lap, crooning soothingly to the sobbing boy. Sora burrowed deeper into Leon's embrace, clinging tightly to the other man's neck. Cloud felt another jolt of jealousy at the tender way Leon held Sora. Sora was his, not Leon's. He flinched, though, when he heard Sora's whispered, "He should have left me behind, too." He hadn't realised just how much Sora blamed himself for this mess until just now.

Cloud grabbed a towel and carefully wrapped it around Sora before lifting the teen into his arms. He felt a pain in his chest when Sora immediately tensed in his arms, subtly trying to move away from the blonde. Sora slowly relaxed, though, when Cloud just continued to hold him gently, leaning wearily against his master's chest. It was heartbreaking to see the normally vibrant teen so acquiescent to his current state. Cloud could still remember the near catatonic state Sora had been in when he had won the tournament. There's no telling what the teen was forced to endure during the two weeks he'd been held captive.

"I'm so sorry, Cloud," whispered Sora sadly.

"It's not your fault, Sora," said Cloud gently, carrying Sora to his bedroom and placing him on the bed. "I'm sorry that I made you feel that it was."

"I don't blame you for any part of this, Cloud," said Sora. "If you hadn't had to save me from Xanthus, you and Aerith would still be together."

"And if Riku hadn't sealed the door, leaving you in that world in the first place, I wouldn't have had to save you. So really, it's more Riku's fault than yours," said Cloud reasonably. "Do you still blame him for leaving you behind?"

"Not anymore," said Sora softly. "I think you were right. Riku wouldn't have deliberately left me behind. He's my best friend, and he's always looked out for me. He's demonstrated that several times over these past few years, even immersing himself in darkness and assuming his enemy's face to keep me safe. I can't blame him for this anymore."

"And I can't blame you for the very same reason. You needed help, and I truly believe that even if I had known what would happen as a result, I still would have done the same thing," said Cloud seriously. As soon as the words left his mouth, Cloud recognised the truth in the statement. Ever since they had first met, Sora had been the one that had given him hope that he would someday find his light. The teen had also made him believe that he hadn't been completely consumed by the darkness in his heart.

"Thanks, Cloud," said Sora, stifling a yawn with his hand and blinking sleepily. The restless nap in the bath had done nothing more than to exhaust him even more. Sora hadn't had a decent night's sleep in two weeks, and it was finally catching up with him.

"Hey, don't fall asleep, yet. I need to find you some clothes to sleep in," said Cloud quickly, trying to keep Sora awake a little longer.

Leon watched the scene unnoticed from the doorway the entire time. He couldn't help but feel a little jealous that Sora was opening up to Cloud so quickly, but he wasn't really that surprised. Sora was the most open, loving, and forgiving person he'd ever met. "Here, you left these," he said, walking into the room with the clothes Yuffie had left in the bathroom for Sora to wear. "They're mine, so they'll probably be a bit too big, but I imagine they'll do for now."

Cloud looked at the clothes in Leon's hands and balked at the thought of Sora wearing the other man's clothes. "I've got some extra clothes he can wear. He doesn't need those," he said harshly, ignoring the knowing look Leon gave him.

The irrational surge of possessiveness caught Cloud by surprise. Why did it matter if Sora wore Leon's clothes? Cloud was beginning to think that the spell on Sora's collar had more to it than Xanthus had told them. Why else would he be so possessive of the cute teen? And why else would it annoy the hell out of him to know that Leon was enamoured with his Sora, too? Wait! Too? Since when was he enamoured with Sora? He loved Aerith, not Sora.

'Liar,' his subconscious whispered. 'You loved Aerith out of habit because she was a reminder of your past. Sora, on the other hand, has been a constant presence in your thoughts since he beat you at Olympus Coliseum over two years ago.'

"Sora, you'll be happy to know that King Mickey sent your friends, Donald and Goofy, to get Riku and Kairi to bring them here. They should be here in a couple of hours," said Leon quietly. "Riku's the one who told us that your were in trouble. Unfortunately, we didn't receive the message until late yesterday afternoon and arrived in that world too late to prevent your current situation."

"Yes, Leon's upset that he's not in my place right now," muttered Cloud softly, glaring at the other man.

Sora hadn't heard the muttered comment, but Leon heard it quite clearly. "You know, for someone so in love with someone else, you sure are awfully possessive and jealous of little Sora," Leon whispered to Cloud.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Squall," hissed Cloud angrily.

"Uh, Cloud?" asked Sora tentatively, seeing the angry glower on the blonde's face. "May I get dressed now? I want to see Riku and Kairi when they arrive."

"No," snapped Cloud, causing Sora to flinch away from him. Cloud's face immediately softened at the teen's reaction. "You need to sleep. You can see them tomorrow." Turning back to Leon, he gestured imperiously to the door. "It's late, Leon, and we would like to go to bed."

"Good night, Sora," said Leon quietly, stepping out of the room and closing the door.

LSC

The gummi ship finally landed in Hollow Bastion an hour later. Donald and Goofy lead the other two to Merlin's house where they were met by Leon and Yuffie. Kairi and Riku stared curiously at the others. Sora had talked about them a lot, but they had never officially met.

"Where's Sora?" asked Goofy cheerfully.

"He's sleeping," said Leon calmly.

"Is he alright?" asked Kairi worriedly. "Was he hurt in any way?"

"He's fine, guys. Good lord is that boy fine these days," said Yuffie with a playful leer.

Kairi immediately blushed and said, "He is, isn't he?"

"Oh man, I got to see him in a pair of ti-ny shorts and nothing else. I almost had a nosebleed," gushed Yuffie dramatically, thinking about the sight she'd walked in on earlier that evening. "It certainly made me want to hide the clothes I'd brought for him to wear."

"Yuffie, that's quite enough," said Leon sternly. "Kairi will be staying with you, so why don't you show her to your room?"

"Okay," she said brightly, grabbing Kairi's arm. "We can talk some more on the way. Right, Kairi?" With another grin, Yuffie bounced towards her room, dragging a bemused Kairi behind her.

"Riku, right?" said Leon evenly. "You'll be sharing a room with me for the duration of your stay. If you'll just follow me."

"Why can't I stay with Sora?" asked Riku suspiciously. "What are you hiding from me?"

"It's not my place to tell you, Riku," said Leon. "You'll see Sora in the morning. I'm sure he'll tell you what's going on then."

"Fine," said Riku reluctantly. "But I will find out tomorrow, so don't even think of keeping Sora away from me."

LSC

"Cloud, are you alright?" asked Sora softly. Cloud had done nothing but pace the floor restlessly, muttering softly to himself, since Leon had left, and Sora was getting a little worried.

"Stay away from Leon, Sora," said Cloud abruptly. "I don't want you near him. Do you understand me, Sora?"

"Y-yes," said Sora, staring at Cloud in confusion. Why would Cloud order him to stay away from Leon? Sora thought the two were friends. Why the sudden change? "Are you two having a fight?"

"You could say that," mumbled Cloud, stripping out of his clothes and climbing into bed. He noticed that Sora was still wearing his towel, so he pulled the towel off the teen and tossed it to the floor. He then settled onto his side, facing away from Sora. "Go to sleep, Sora."

Sora, blushing fiercely at the sight of Cloud's naked body and his own nakedness, quickly closed his eyes and fell asleep within minutes. Once Sora was asleep, Cloud turned over and carefully pulled the brunette into his arms. Feeling the warm, comfortable weight against his chest, Cloud fell in to the first peaceful sleep he'd had in years.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Warning- lemon between Leon and Sora in this chapter. Please refrain from reading if you don't like the pairing.

Chapter 6

Cloud stood outside Merlin's house, watching the breaking dawn and contemplating his current situation. He'd been out there for over an hour and still hadn't made any progress. He was deep in thought when he heard the door open behind him. Aerith stepped outside, setting her bags down beside her. She and Cloud looked at each other silently, neither really knowing what to say.

"I guess this goodbye, then" said Aerith quietly. She couldn't even muster a smile as she looked at Cloud. Her heart was broken, shattered by a mere teenager's presence, a teenager who was supposed to be Cloud's friend. She knew that she was being unfair to Sora, but nothing was fair right now. If it were, Sora would be home with his friends, and Cloud would still be with her.

"Aerith, I'm sorry," said Cloud gruffly. "I never meant to hurt you. If I had known this would happen, I would have…" His words trailed off abruptly. He couldn't finish that sentence because he refused to lie to Aerith. He would have saved Sora regardless of the outcome, and he knew it. "Aerith, please don't go. You're still needed here. Don't let me be the one to drive you away from the ones you love."

"How can you ask that of me?" she asked incredulously. She was suddenly furiously angry with the man in front of her. "How can you ask me to stay here with you flaunting your new lover in my face? Why wasn't I enough for you? First I get tossed aside so you can pursue Sephiroth, and then I get tossed aside for a teenage boy. The only way I'll even consider staying is if Sora goes home. I can't stay here with him after he took you from me."

"That's not possible, Aerith. I already told you that I'm stuck with him for a year or he'll die. Do you want his death on your conscience?" asked Cloud angrily, unaware that their shouting had drawn an audience.

"I don't believe you, Cloud," said Aerith stubbornly. "You've been fascinated with him ever since you first met, and don't even try to deny it. I saw how you looked at him the last time he was here, but I ignored it because I knew he wouldn't be here for long. Sora was too focused on finding Riku. But I knew that if he ever came back, I would probably lose you to him."

"I'm not lying, Aerith," growled Cloud in frustration. "Just ask Leon or King Mickey. They heard what Xanthus said. Sora is my pet, and if I don't have sex with him everyday, he will die. He can't go home until the collar comes off. One year, Aerith."

"What!" shouted two voices simultaneously, startling Cloud and Aerith our of their argument. Riku and Kairi were standing in the doorway.

"You and Sora are lovers?" asked Kairi in disbelief, feeling faint from shock. She'd always assumed that she and Sora would end up together. She had imagined that they would lose their virginity to each other, get married eventually, and have several children together. Those dreams were shattered into a million pieces with Cloud's shocking revelation. Kairi couldn't help but blame Riku a little, but she would never tell him that. Riku already blamed himself enough. He'd hardly slept at all over the past two weeks, working ceaselessly on a way to rescue Sora.

"Like hell Sora is your pet," snarled Riku angrily, glaring hatefully at the blonde. "Come on, Kairi.We're taking Sora home with us. I'll be damned if I leave my best friend here to be used like a common whore."

"Are you that eager for Sora to die?" asked Cloud mockingly, his helpless anger ruling his mouth. "Sora is bound to me and must obey my orders. If I say, 'Sora, I order you to have sex with Leon,' he would have to obey or suffer excruciating pain because of that collar around his neck. I truly could turn him into a common whore if I so wished, and there isn't a damn thing you could do to stop me without killing off your best friend." As soon as he said it, Cloud wished he could take the words back. He would never do that to Sora. He was just upset and taking it out on everyone else.

SLAP

Cloud stared at Kairi in surprise, holding his throbbing cheek. It wasn't that he was surprised that someone had hit him. After all, he fully deserved it for what he'd just said. No, he'd figured that Riku would be the one to hit him. But damn could that girl hit.

"How dare you?" she screeched furiously. "How dare you even talk about Sora like that? Like he's some kind of nobody, especially after all he's done to help you people. You don't deserve Sora, Cloud. He's far too good for you." She then turned to Aerith, clenching her fists tightly. "And you, you are the most selfish bitch I've ever met. You would have sent Sora away, knowing he would die, just to get your boyfriend back. You're supposed to be Sora's friend." Kairi took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Come on, Riku. I hope to god Sora didn't hear any of this. It would break his heart to know what his so-called friends really thought of him." With a last fulminating glare towards Cloud and Aerith, she turned and stormed into the house.

Riku followed Kairi back into the house, thinking, 'He better hope Sora didn't hear what he said because he just ordered Sora to have sex with Leon. Of course, he may not care at all. I just can't tell with that guy.'

LSC

Sora, unfortunately, heard the entire conversation from beginning to end. He'd woke up, feeling cold without Cloud's warmth beside him, and had decided to watch the sunrise since their bedroom window faced the east. Sitting in the window seat in just the shirt Leon had left for him, he hadn't noticed Cloud's presence under his window until Aerith had stepped outside and had started speaking. Hearing his name in the conversation, Sora couldn't help but listen in. Now he wished he hadn't.

"I'm stuck with him for a year, or he'll die. Do you want his death on your conscience?"

Sora flinched at Cloud's question. 'So much for Cloud's predicament not being my fault,' he thought bitterly. He now felt even more guilty for being here. While it hurt to know that Aerith was willing to send him to his death to get Cloud back, it hurt even more to realise just how much Cloud regretted his decision to save Sora.

"What!"

Sora silently groaned when he heard the two familiar voices. He wished he could just disappear completely. Now Riku and Kairi knew the whole sordid circumstances. While he was happy to see his friends, a huge part of him wished they'd never arrived. Sora never wanted them to know what really happened to him. He knew they would feel guilty about his fate, especially Riku since he was the reason Sora had been left behind in the first place.

"I could say, 'Sora, I order you to have sex with Leon,' and he would have to obey or suffer excruciating pain thanks to that collar around his neck."

Sora froze in shock and horror. He couldn't believe that Cloud had just said that. After ordering him to stay away from Leon just last night, Cloud turned around and ordered him to have sex with the very same man. It didn't seem to matter at all that the blonde was speaking hypothetically when he issued the order. The collar had taken the order as fact, and Sora had small jolts of pain coursing underneath his skin as proof.

"Come on, Riku. I hope to god Sora didn't hear any of this."

Sora's eyes widened and he hurriedly scrambled back into the bed, pretending to sleep in an effort to put off the inevitable confrontation with his friends. Besides, he still had to figure out what to do about the order he had yet to complete. As the door slowly opened, Sora forcibly controlled his breathing, keeping his breaths deep and even.

"He's still sleeping, Kairi. Let's come back a little later," whispered Riku.

"How cute," said Kairi softly, staring at Sora's sprawled form. Sora looked so innocent in sleep. Then a sad look crossed her face. "I'm sorry, Sora. He doesn't deserve you at all." Walking up to the bed, she leaned down and kissed Sora on the forehead. "I just want you to be happy." She turned around and almost ran from the room while Riku softly shut the door.

As soon as the door closed, Sora curled up into a little ball and silently cried. No matter what he did, he managed to hurt the ones he loved despite his best intentions. He gasped quietly as the pain suddenly spiked up a notch, causing his stomach to burn. Apparently, he needed to find Leon and find him quickly. Sora just hoped that the last order cancelled out the 'stay away from Leon' order that Cloud had given him last night. Otherwise, he was going to be in a great deal of pain no matter what he tried to do.

Sora crept from his room quietly, keeping to the shadows to avoid detection. He was really only trying to avoid Riku and Kairi because he knew they would be upset over what he had to do. Peeking into each room he passed, he finally reached the room at the back of the house. It had to be Leon's room because it was the last door left. Sora cautiously opened the door and peered inside, breathing a sigh of relief when he saw Leon sleeping soundly.

"At least he managed to sleep through this morning's drama," he muttered quietly.

Sora crept closer to the bed and reached out to shake Leon awake. Before he even managed to touch the older man, his wrist was caught in vise-like grip while Leon quickly sat up.

"Sora, what are you doing in here?" asked Leon quietly.

Sora ducked his head in shame. He didn't want to force Leon into having sex with him, but the pain was steadily getting worse. "Cloud ordered me to have sex with you," he said in a shamed voice.

"What?" asked Leon incredulously, staring at Sora in shock. Seeing the humiliated shame on Sora's face, Leon felt his anger at Cloud burst uncontrollably. "I am going to kill that bastard right now." He let go of Sora's wrist and climbed from the bed, disregarding his nudity and pulling a change of clothes out of the closet. "You stay here while I go get Cloud. I'll make him rescind the order."

"It's too late, Leon," said Sora softly, his whole body trembling in reaction to the pain. "I won't last that long. Please, help me."

"But, Sora," said Leon helplessly, his clothes falling forgotten to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Leon," said Sora sadly. "I'm so sorry. Hurry and get Cloud. I'll be all right." Even as he said it, a thin trail of blood began to trickle from Sora's nose. A few more minutes and blood would start coming out of his ears. If the pain persisted much longer, blood would trail from his eyes. If it came to the point, Sora was a dead man.

"Dammit, Sora, I will not leave you here to die," snapped Leon, wiping the blood off of Sora's face and pulling the teen into his arms. 'Damn that arrogant bastard,' he snarled silently. 'I'll find a way to help Sora if it kills me.'

"It's really for the best, Leon. I only hurt the ones I love," said Sora somberly. "Besides, Aerith will stay with Cloud if I'm gone, and Cloud would be happier without me here, too."

"What about me? Don't I count?" asked Leon harshly. "I won't be happy. In fact, I'll be incredibly sad. God, Sora, I love you. Haven't you realised that, yet?"

"You love me, Leon?" asked Sora wonderingly. "Why?"

"Because you're Sora," said Leon simply.

That was the first time anyone besides his parents had ever said that they loved him, and all because he was Sora. He smiled tremulously at Leon before laying his head on Leon's chest. Although the pain had lessened slightly with Leon's embrace, it was beginning to increase once more as the order of sex demanded to be filled.

"Leon, please help me," he beseeched softly.

Leon saw the fine tremors racking Sora's body once more and knew he had to follow through with Cloud's order. He wasn't going to allow Sora to die because of the blonde's foolishness. Cloud would just have to deal with the repercussions of his actions. Leon vowed to talk with Merlin as soon as possible to see if the old wizard could help with Sora's collar. He would have done so already if the wizard had been there when they arrived.

Leon leaned down and pressed his lips lightly against Sora's. Almost immediately, the tremors lessened. Leon gently nibbled on Sora's bottom lip, coaxing the teen's lips to part and deepening the kiss. Sora timidly responded to the sweeps of Leon's tongue, kneading his fingers into the older man's chest like a contented kitten as he melted into the kiss.

'Kissing Leon was different from kissing Cloud,' thought Sora dazedly. When he'd been with Cloud, everything had been so overwhelming and had happened so quickly. Leon seemed determined to enjoy Sora slowly and totally, exploring his mouth with almost lazy sweeps of his tongue.

Sora broke the kiss with a gasp and looked up at Leon with dazed eyes. "Can I- Can I touch you?" he asked tentatively. He wanted to make Leon feel as good as Leon made him feel.

Leon smiled and said, "Yes, but let's take this off of you and get on the bed, okay?" Sora nodded, and he pulled off the oversized shirt and pushed Sora towards the bed. Climbing onto the bed, Leon stretched out on his back and waited for Sora to climb up onto the bed beside him. He took Sora's hands and placed them on his chest. "Explore to your heart's content. I don't mind at all."

Sora, remembering how sensitive his nipples had been, gently caressed the little nub and watched in fascination as it immediately tightened. Leaning down, he flicked his tongue across the erect nub and heard Leon moan softly in response. He turned his attention to Leon's other nipple and repeated the process, smiling as Leon gasped out his name.

Sora then swept his hands down Leon's stomach until he reached the older man's towering erection. He stroked a single finger up the rigid length and heard Leon moan again, arching his hips to prolong the touch. Sora saw a bead of fluid bubble from the tip and swiped his thumb over the slit to capture the liquid drop, bringing his thumb to his mouth curiously to taste it and humming delightedly at the taste.

Leon almost came right then. He didn't know if he could take much more of Sora's innocently erotic explorations. He was hard as a rock and wanted nothing more than to bury himself inside Sora's tight arse.

"Sora," he moaned softly, pulling the teen up into another kiss. Rolling Sora onto his stomach, Leon fumbled in the nightstand drawer until he found some lotion. "My turn now." Leon pulled Sora to his knees and carefully prepared the teen.

"L-leon, it hurts," gasped Sora, wincing at the burning fullness.

"Try to relax, Sora," said Leon soothingly, thrusting his fingers in at different angles as he searched for that special spot. Sora suddenly cried out and thrust back against Leon's fingers. Leon deliberately rubbed Sora's prostate one last time before withdrawing his fingers.

"Don't stop, Leon," moaned Sora, clutching the sheets in a tight grip.

Leon thrust slowly into Sora, not stopping until he was sheathed completely. God, Sora was so tight. As Sora gradually relaxed, Leon slowly withdrew before thrusting back inside. He kept the pace slow, making sure to hit Sora's prostate with almost every thrust.

"More, Leon," Sora panted, thrusting back against Leon. The almost constant stimulation to his prostate was keeping him on the edge of release, but it wasn't enough to send him over. "Oh god, please."

"Okay, love, I'll give you more," whispered Leon. He suddenly slammed into Sora, causing the teen to scream in ecstasy as the thrust speared him deeper and harder than before. Leon then grasped Sora's shaft in his hand and stroked the teen in time to his thrusts.

It was too much for Sora. He cried out loudly as his release hit, spilling his seed into Leon's hand and onto the bed. Leon grunted and thrust even harder, coming with shout of Sora's name. Trying to catch his breath, Leon gently withdrew from Sora and collapsed onto the bed beside the teen.

"Are you all right, Sora?" he asked worriedly.

"I'm fine, Leon. The pain's gone now," said Sora quietly.

"That's not what I meant," said Leon gruffly. "Are you all right with what just happened? You're not trying to convince yourself that you forced me to have sex with you, are you?"

"I'm fine, Leon," Sora repeated with a small smile. Leon really knew him too well. "I'm tired, though. Can we at least take a nap before facing everyone?"

"Yeah," said Leon softly. "Go to sleep. I'll keep you safe."

Sora nodded sleepily and drifted to sleep. Leon pulled the covers over them and stroked a hand through Sora's hair, watching the teen sleep so trustingly next to him. The door suddenly opened, and he looked up to find Cloud standing in the doorway. Shaking his head firmly to keep Cloud from speaking, Leon eased out of the bed and got dressed. He had a few choice words to say to Cloud, and he didn't want Sora to hear them.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"I'm going to go change my clothes," said Kairi as Riku shut the bedroom door. "I'll meet you in the kitchen for breakfast." She was so thankful that Sora had slept through the argument this morning.

"Yeah, okay," said Riku casually, watching her hurry away with a grin. As she disappeared around the corner, though, his grin disappeared completely. A scowl took its place. He needed to have a little talk with a certain blonde anyway. He hadn't gotten the chance to do so before because of Kairi's presence. She would only be upset by what he had to say.

Riku continued towards the kitchen, pondering what exactly he wished to say to the arrogant blonde. There was no one in the room, but Riku could see Yuffie and Aerith talking outside. They looked serious, and Aerith was crying again. He saw Yuffie hug the crying girl and snorted derisively. After this morning's 'conversation' he could barely stand to even look at Aerith, much less feel any sympathy for her.

Fortunately, someone had already made coffee and breakfast, so Riku sat at the table to eat. He figured if he waited on Kairi to arrive, he wouldn't get to eat until lunchtime. After thirty minutes of waiting, Riku, having finished his breakfast, poured another cup of coffee to drink as he waited for the redhead. As he took a sip of his coffee, Cloud strolled into the room with a scowl on his face. Judging by the direction he'd come from, he'd just left his bedroom.

"Just the person I wanted to see," said Riku calmly, sneering slightly at the blonde. "Something wrong, Cloud? Maybe a certain brunette missing?" He'd had a feeling that Sora hadn't actually been asleep, but unfortunately, Cloud was right about one thing. Riku knew that any interference on his part would only cause his friend more pain. Besides, Cloud was the one who needed a swift kick to the ass, not Leon or Sora.

"Where is Sora?" asked Cloud tightly, glaring at the silver haired boy. He'd gone to his room to wake Sora only to find the brunette gone. He'd seen the little red haired girl in the hallway and asked if she'd seen Sora, but she seemed to think he was still asleep. And judging by the sneer on Riku's face, the teen knew exactly where Sora was.

"You really are an asshole, aren't you?" asked Riku harshly. "You actually think of Sora as nothing more than a pet, something you can use and abuse. Think about it, Cloud. Do the words, 'If I say 'Sora, I order you to have sex with Leon,' mean anything to you? Because that would be the first place I would look if I were you." He bared his teeth in a feral grin when Cloud paled and cursed viciously. "Yes, Cloud, you ordered Sora to have sex with Leon, and he heard every word. You said it yourself. He can't disobey an order without suffering excruciating pain. Besides, from what I've seen, Leon would at least treat him better."

Glaring once more at Riku, Cloud ran from the room. He reached Leon's room and hesitated. He desperately wanted to believe that Riku was wrong, but he knew he wasn't. Taking a deep breath, he silently opened the door and could only stare in shock. His Sora was sleeping in Leon's arms, and it was painfully obvious what they had been doing to tire the boy out. What really made his stomach clench, though, was the contentment on both of their faces. Leon held Sora in much the same way Cloud had held him the previous night, unconsciously protecting the teen in the shelter of his arms. Before he had a chance to speak, Leon opened his eyes and shook his head, climbing out of the bed and gesturing for him to wait outside. Cloud reluctantly retreated and waited for Leon to join him.

Leon quickly pulled on a pair of pants and a short-sleeved shirt, forgoing socks and shoes for the moment. Stepping out of the room and quietly shutting the door behind him, Leon grabbed Cloud's arm and dragged the blonde down the hallway. He pushed Cloud into a bedroom at the other end of the house and locked the door behind them.

"Now we can talk," said Leon quietly. "I'm sure you would rather Sora not hear this particular conversation after this morning's debacle."

"What the hell do you think you're doing, Squall? Sora is **my** pet, not yours," hissed Cloud furiously.

At that possessive statement, Leon saw red. He reared back and punched Cloud in the jaw, glaring fiercely at the blonde. "He won't be your pet for much longer if I have anything to say about it," snarled Leon furiously. "As soon as Merlin gets back, I'm going to ask him to try and remove that damn collar. And if that isn't possible, he can still try to transfer ownership to me. At least I would never order him to have sex with someone else, you bastard. This is your damn fault, not mine and certainly not Sora's."

"Dammit, I didn't do it on purpose," said Cloud defensively. "That damn Riku kid just pissed me off, and I wanted to return the favour. It wasn't supposed to be an actual order. Do you honestly think I like the fact that you fucked Sora? Sora's mine."

"I love Sora. Can you say the same?" asked Leon quietly, staring at the blonde intently. "You can't, can you? You're too busy chasing after Aerith to really care how much you hurt Sora, and he doesn't deserve that. Sora deserves to be with someone who loves him."

"I'm not chasing after Aerith," said Cloud sulkily. He sighed and sat down on the bed. "I just don't know what to do. On one hand, I feel terrible for hurting Aerith. She doesn't deserve what's happened anymore than Sora does. But on the other hand, I know perfectly well that I would do it all over again."

"You have a decision to make," said Leon softly. "You can quit being an asshole and take care of Sora properly, or I will take him from you one way or another." Cloud nodded solemnly.

A squealed, "How cuuute!" drew their attention, breaking the serious atmosphere, and lead them to the kitchen. They couldn't help but to agree with the assessment when they saw what Yuffie was squealing about.

LSC

Sora dozed contentedly in Leon's arms, feeling cherished for once. The bedroom door opened, and Sora once again pretended to sleep. He knew who was looking at them, but he really didn't want to face Cloud at the moment. He patiently waited until Leon left the room and climbed from the bed. Just how did his life get so complicated? He decided to join everyone downstairs and searched Leon's wardrobe for something to wear. Leon could deal with Cloud for the moment. Sora was going to get something to eat. He was about to starve, having only eaten one meal a day for the last four days.

Rifling through Leon's clothes, Sora sighed softly. Apparently, the only clothes Leon owned consisted of leather trousers and short-sleeved shirts. Shrugging lightly, Sora grabbed a pair of black trousers and a black shirt and quickly slipped them on. Unfortunately, they were far too large. Although the trousers were only a size or two too large in the waist- nothing a belt couldn't fix-, they were several inches too long. The shirt, on the other hand, fairly dwarfed the keyblade wielder, hanging to mid-thigh. Leon was far more muscular and broader around the chest and shoulders than Sora.

"Oh, well," said Sora glumly, looking at his reflection with a pout. He looked like a little kid dressing in his parent's clothing. "I'm too hungry to worry about the way I look." Following the smell of food, Sora made his way to the kitchen. Unfortunately, Yuffie saw him first.

"How cuuute!" she squealed excitedly, drawing everyone's attention to the now blushing Sora. "You look like a chibi version of Squall. I'll have to call you Leo-cub." Aerith glared at Sora and stormed out of the kitchen, but Kairi squealed and jumped up to hug her friend. Riku just smirked at Sora and continued to drink his coffee.

Sora blushed at the attention and tried to push the two girls away, but they were like limpets and held tightly to the boy. "Riku, a little help?" he asked desperately, staring at the silver haired teen with wide, pleading blue eyes.

"Sorry, Sora, but you're surrounded. You're on your own this time," said Riku sympathetically. No way was he getting between a couple of girls and their prize. He wasn't that stupid.

Yuffie suddenly started squealing again. "Look, Squall, isn't little Leo-cub simply adorable?" she asked Leon excitedly as he and Cloud stepped into the kitchen.

"Leo-cub?" asked Leon and Cloud curiously, wondering how the ninja girl had come up with that name.

"Yeah, 'cause he's like a chibi version of Leon in these clothes," said Yuffie reasonably. "Absolutely adorable."

"Yeah, adorable," said Cloud softly, smiling slightly as Sora blushed in embarrassment. Sora looked like he wanted to bolt at the first opportunity. He probably would if the two girls let go of him for even a moment. Cloud couldn't blame him, though. Girls could be extremely scary at times, and now was one of those times.

"I packed Sora some clothes if you want them," said Riku abruptly, climbing to his feet. He was nowhere near ready to forgive Cloud for what he did to Sora.

"You are a life saver, Riku," said Sora enthusiastically, almost bouncing with joy at having his own clothes again. "Where are they? Can I have them now? Come on, Riku."

"Okay, Sora," said Riku, snickering at his friend's exuberance. This was the Sora he knew so well, and he was glad that this ordeal hadn't snuffed that side of the brunette out. "Or should I say, Leo-cub?" Riku burst out laughing at the bright blush that immediately suffused Sora's face at the new name, earning a small glare from the blushing boy. "Come on, then. My bag is in Leon's room."

"I didn't see a bag while I was in there. Where did you put it, Riku?" asked Sora curiously. Of course, he did have to admit that he didn't exactly search for any bags while he was there. He didn't notice the speculative looks the two girls gave him.

"When were you in Leon's room, Sora?" asked Kairi softly, looking at Riku accusingly. She noticed that he didn't seem at all surprised.

"This morning," said Sora guilelessly.

Riku glared at Cloud, knowing exactly why Sora had been in Leon's room that morning. This just confirmed his suspicions. "This is all your fault," he hissed quietly to the blonde.

Cloud flinched from the accusation but didn't deny it.

"Why?" asked Kairi.

Sora immediately blushed once again as he realised what he'd just said. Kairi gasped and covered her mouth, looking at Sora in shock. Yuffie, however, squealed yet again.

"Oh my god, you and Leon are together?" she asked Sora. "But what about Cloud? Aerith told me that you were Cloud's lover. Or are you all in a threesome?" She almost got a nosebleed just thinking about it. She could just picture it: two sweaty gorgeous men, touching and kissing the adorable brunette. "Damn!" cried Yuffie, clapping a hand over her nose as blood dripped through her fingers.

"Yuffie, are you all right?" asked Kairi worriedly, rushing to help Yuffie.

"Yeah," said Yuffie quickly, waving Kairi away.

Leon and Cloud just shook their heads at Yuffie's predicament. Riku continued to glare at Cloud. Kairi looked as though she was going to follow Yuffie's example, gazing at them speculatively. And Sora looked like he wanted the earth to open up and swallow him while.

"Well, Sora, it seems you've gotten yourself in quite a pickle," said a voice in the doorway.

"Merlin!" cried Sora happily. He sure was glad to see the old wizard. If anyone could get this collar off, it would surely be Merlin. "I'm glad to see you."


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"How do you always manage to get into so much trouble, Sora?" asked Merlin wryly, sitting down at the kitchen table. "You're as bad as Arthur was as a child. I remember those days as if it was yesterday."

"Heh, just talent, I guess," said Sora sheepishly.

"Talent? I think not. It's more like extremely bad luck," said Riku sardonically, causing a flash of hurt to cross Sora's face. Riku immediately felt bad for hurting his friend. It wasn't Sora's fault any of this had happened, and he shouldn't take his bad mood out on the boy.

"Shut up, Riku. You have no room to talk," snapped Kairi. Smirking at the flush that rose on Riku's cheeks, she turned to face Merlin. "Is there anything you can do to help Sora, Merlin?"

"I don't know. Come here, Sora," he commanded. He would need to cast a few spells to ascertain the nature of the collar before he could even attempt to help.

Sora nervously went to Merlin. The old wizard drew out his wand and muttered several spells, causing Sora to flinch every time he saw the light burst from the end of the wand. Several moments and several spells later, Merlin sat back with a sigh.

"Well, can you remove it?" asked Riku impatiently.

"No," said Merlin softly. He was not looking forward to the upcoming conversation. He was too old to be discussing these kids' sex lives.

"Why the hell not?" cried Riku. "You're supposed to be the most powerful wizard in the world, and you can't remove a simple collar?"

"No, I can't," said Merlin apologetically.

"What about changing who the collar obeys?" asked Leon quietly. "Can you do that?"

"Wait," said Yuffie abruptly. "What do you mean 'who the collar obeys?' Is Sora some kind of slave or something?" This was the first she'd heard about this. As far as she had known, Cloud had saved Sora from an unknown world and had come back to Radiant Garden with Leon and King Mickey. She'd only seen Sora for a few minutes the night they'd arrived, so she hadn't gotten a chance to talk to him then. Aerith had only told her that Cloud had tossed her aside in favour of Sora, but Yuffie hadn't been so sure about that. Now, it seems there was far more to the story than she'd thought.

"Two weeks ago Riku, Kairi, and I went to this strange world," said Sora softly, almost hesitantly. He was rather tired of telling this story over and over again. "It was nothing but desert except for this little oasis with a castle right in the center. When we arrived at the castle, Xanthus, the king, decided that I would make a fine trophy and tried to capture me. Well, to make a long story short, as we were trying to escape, Riku accidentally sealed the door, leaving me in the strange world. Needless to say, I was captured and spent two weeks in hell. Cloud arrived, won the tournament and me, and took my virginity so the collar would recognise him as my master. Then Leon and King Mickey showed up, and here we are."

"Wow," said Yuffie, staring at Sora in awe. "So what does that have to do with Cloud and Aerith's current problem. She wouldn't leave him just because he had sex with you once to save your life. Besides, she told me that Cloud just tossed her aside to be with you."

"He did not," said Sora indignantly. "He just told her the truth. As my master, Cloud must have sex with me at least once a day, or my collar goes ballistic and starts shooting jolts of pain through my body. The pain gradually gets worse until it ultimately kills me. Cloud didn't just toss her aside. Unless he wants to kill me, he has no choice."

"Back to the original question people," said Riku abruptly. "What about spelling the collar to see Leon as its master?" He would rather the quiet brunette be Sora's master rather than Cloud. The blonde was too stuck on that Aerith woman to take care of Sora properly while Leon obviously cared for Sora.

"Apparently, the collar already views Leon as one of its masters," said Merlin calmly.

"One of its masters?" asked Kairi. "How did that happen? Cloud had sex with Sora, so how did Leon become his master, too?" Sora immediately blushed and ducked his head while Leon sniffed and rolled his eyes. Kairi saw this and gasped in realisation. "Oh, I see."

"Give him a command, Leon," said Cloud curtly. He refused to believe that Sora also belonged to Leon.

"Sora, hop on one foot," said Leon calmly. He didn't really believe that he could command Sora, and he didn't really want to. He just wanted to get Sora away from Cloud before the blonde did something rash and hurt the teen.

Sora stared at Leon incredulously and refused to move. Kairi and Cloud breathed a sigh of relief at the refusal. Obviously Merlin was wrong. However, Sora suddenly started hopping on one foot as the collar sent little jolts of pain through his body.

"Sora, stop," said Leon quickly. He hadn't really believed that Sora would be compelled to follow that command, but he'd seen the flash of pain that crossed Sora's face when he'd tried to disobey the order.

Sora immediately stopped hopping and collapsed into the chair beside him. Why did these things always happen to him? Did he have a cosmic tattoo that read 'Convenient target, hit me now,' on his back? Because really, that would explain a lot.

"How did this happen?" Cloud demanded. "Xanthus told me that because I took Sora's virginity I became his master. Anyone else to have Sora would be at my prerogative and wouldn't affect my ownership. So how the hell did Leon become his master, too?"

"You bastard," growled Kairi angrily. "Sora's not a toy. You can't just give him away or let other people play with him, so quit talking like that. God, why did Sora have the misfortune to get stuck with you?"

"Ahem, if I may?" Merlin interrupted. "As far as I can tell, the collar recognises Cloud and Leon both as Sora's masters because they each had sexual intercourse with him within the initial 24 hour bonding period the spell required." At the confused look on everyone's face, Merlin explained in more detail. "The spell has a 24 hour transitional period before it becomes stable. Since sex was it's trigger, the fact that Sora had sex with both Cloud and Leon within that 24 hour transitional period, the spell bound Sora to them both."

Sora just wanted to disappear. God, now Merlin was discussing his sex life, and if that wasn't just plain weird, he didn't know what was. Besides, he was feeling like the world's biggest slut at the moment for having slept with them both of them regardless of the fact that neither time was his fault. Cloud and Leon glared at each other while Riku sighed and dropped his head to the table. Kairi looked like she was about to cry, and Yuffie looked like she was going to have another nosebleed.

"Sora, you lucky boy," said Yuffie cheerfully. "Only you would get the two most gorgeous men in your bed every night. Of course, Leon and Cloud are just as lucky 'cause my little Leo-cub is just absolutely adorable." She felt bad for Aerith. She really did. But these three were obviously made for each other. Leon and Cloud both cared for Sora, that much was apparent. However, Leon was open with his affection while Cloud tried to deny his feelings.

"So I have to obey both of them now?" asked Sora miserably. "Does that also mean I have to have sex with both of them every single day?"

"I'm not sure about that part," said Merlin sheepishly. "You may just have to have intercourse with one of your masters. There's only one way to find out."

"Oh, joy. More pain for Sora," muttered Sora bitterly. He was sick and tired of this damn collar, and he was not looking forward to the next year. Leon would do his best to take care of him, but Cloud was a whole different story. He may claim to find Sora blameless in this whole mess, but his actions spoke otherwise. It had only been a day, and he'd already given Sora to someone else, accident or not. He suddenly just needed to get away. "Excuse me." Before anyone could even think of protesting, Sora had disappeared.

Kairi immediately jumped to her feet to follow her friend, but Riku grabbed her arm and shook his head. She reluctantly sat back down. Riku was right. Sora just needed some time alone right now.

LSC

Sora hurried back to the room he shared with Cloud and threw himself on the bed. He never heard the door open and close behind him, nor did he hear the quiet snick of the lock.

"I'm sorry, Sora, but you are no longer welcome here," said Aerith softly, stepping closer to the bed.

Sora rolled over to face Aerith and was shocked at the total blankness in her eyes. "Aerith, what are you talking about?"

"Cloud is mine, and you are getting in the way of our love. Therefore, I will be doing us all a favour by getting rid of you," she said softly. She suddenly started chanting in a low voice, and lightning flashed in the room. Sora jumped off the bed just as a lightning bolt hit the spot he'd just vacated.

"Aerith, stop. You don't want to do this. What's wrong with you?" screamed Sora, summoning his keyblade. He didn't want to hurt her, but he wasn't just going to allow her to kill him.

"I'm sorry, Sora, but Aerith is no longer here. She's merely a puppet for me to control," said Sephiroth from behind Sora.

"Sephiroth! Why are you doing this?" asked Sora, trying to keep Aerith and Sephiroth in sight at all times.

"Because you are keeping Cloud from his destiny. You are the only that has managed to make him forget about me, and that I will not tolerate. Not even this woman could keep Cloud from pursuing me, but you are a different story," said Sephiroth angrily. "I got you out of the castle because I knew Cloud would be arriving soon, but you stupidly got captured anyway. And foolish, noble Cloud dropped his chase to save you."

"He would have done that for anyone," said Sora. "I'm not special to him. He even blames me for losing Aerith."

"Then why do you fight? No one loves you. No one cares if you disappear. Did anyone follow you when you left? Of course, not. Because they simply don't care what happens to you. Why do you continue living in the face of such hate?" asked Sephiroth cuttingly. "Why not give in to death? Embrace the oblivion death provides? There's nothing left for you here."

"Even if they all hate me, I still love them. I will continue to love and protect them until there is no breath left in my body," said Sora fiercely. He heard muffled shouting at the door and looked back.

"So be it," said Sephiroth, teleporting behind Sora and grabbing the boy just as the door burst open. With a smirk aimed towards Cloud, he teleported Sora to the place they'd had their last battle, leaving Aerith to deal with the aftermath.

LSC

Silence reigned in the kitchen after Sora left. Leon and Cloud took the opportunity to slip out of the kitchen unnoticed. They had no intentions of leaving Sora alone right now. Since his depression was mostly their fault, it was up to Leon and Cloud to console and comfort the distraught teen.

Leon and Cloud had just reached the corridor where Cloud's room was when the surge of magic sent them running. Cloud knew the feel of that magic very well. Aerith was in that room, and she was on the offensive.

Reaching Cloud's room, they found the door locked and sealed with magic. Cloud banged on the door and yelled for Sora while Leon kicked at the door. The door burst upon just as Sephiroth grabbed Sora and teleported away.

"Sephiroth!" shouted Cloud futilely. He immediately turned and ran from the room, knowing exactly where the other man was taking Sora.

Leon quickly checked Aerith for any injuries and saw that she was just unconscious. Placing her on Cloud's bed, Leon hurriedly ran after Cloud. It was obviously time to destroy Sephiroth for good.

LSC

"Oomph," grunted Sora as he hit the ground painfully. Scrambling to his feet, he saw Sephiroth smirking at him.

"It seems you were correct," said Sephiroth smugly. "Now that I'm back, Cloud will resume his chase and forget all about you."

"Yeah, congratulations," said Sora sarcastically. "So why even bother bringing me here if you were so sure he'd follow you."

"Because the darkness inside of him will grow when he fails to save you," said Sephiroth calmly.

"It won't be that easy, you bastard," snapped Sora, summoning his keyblade once again.

"We'll see," said Sephiroth, lunging towards Sora.

Sora parried the blow and rolled behind Sephiroth, hitting him across the back. Sephiroth staggered forward and teleported into the air, slashing downwards towards Sora. Sora rolled to the side and jumped to his feet, but Sephiroth had already leapt away.

Sephiroth rushed forward, sword at the ready, and managed to cut Sora across his chest as the brunette tried to dodge. Fortunately, it wasn't a fatal blow. Sora leapt towards Sephiroth, keyblade hurling towards the silver-haired man while another keyblade appeared in his left hand. The keyblade plunged into Sephiroth's left shoulder before disappearing back into Sora's right hand.

"My goodness, you have gotten better," said Sephiroth softly, clutching the wound on his shoulder. "But you still aren't good enough to defeat me."

"But I am," said Cloud, running into the clearing. "You have hurt my friends for the last time, Sephiroth. It ends now."

"Sora, are you all right?" asked Leon, running to Sora and pulling off the teen's shirt to inspect the gash across his chest.

"Yeah, it's just a graze," said Sora dismissively, looking towards Cloud. "He was controlling Aerith somehow."

With a loud cry, Cloud rushed towards Sephiroth, sword raised high, and they met with a clash of steel.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

The silence in the kitchen was broken by a series of thumps on the floor above them. An unintelligible shout brought them to their feet. "Sora!" cried Riku, running for the stairs. Just as he reached the stairs, Cloud raced down the stairs, knocking Riku to the ground, and ran out the front door. Leon simply jumped over Riku's sprawled legs and followed Cloud. That, to Riku, was proof that something had indeed happened to Sora. He jumped to his feet, fully intending to chase after the other two men.

"Come on, Riku. Let's check upstairs. Sora may be in trouble," said Kairi, pulling Riku up the stairs with her.

Riku reluctantly allowed her to drag him along, trusting Sora's safety to Cloud and Leon for the moment, because he knew Sora would not be in that room. Leon, at least, would never have left him alone if he was hurt in any way. He was startled out of his thoughts by Yuffie's question.

"Hold on," she said quietly. "Has anyone seen Aerith lately? It's not like her to be gone so long."

"No," said Kairi. "Not since breakfast. She kinda left when Sora arrived. I don't think she likes him much anymore."

"She has been acting a little odd lately, even considering her problems with Cloud. Maybe something else is wrong with her," said Yuffie.

"Who cares?" asked Riku impatiently. "We don't really have time to sit here and ruminate on Aerith's attitude right now. Sora could be bleeding and dying while you two stand there and chat." He turned and stormed up the stairs, hesitating briefly at Cloud's door before peering cautiously inside. He immediately saw Aerith lying unconscious on the bed, and of course, Sora was nowhere in sight. "Well, I found Aerith." Yuffie and Kairi hurried up the stairs. As Riku stepped into the room, he noticed scorch marks dotting the walls and floor, indicating either fire or lightning magic. "Someone was using fire or lightning magic in here. If it turns out that Aerith was using this magic to attack Sora, I will take great delight in making sure she regrets it for a very long time."

Yuffie ran to Aerith and gently slapped her on the cheeks, trying to wake the other woman. "Wake up, Aerith." she said loudly. Aerith's eyes fluttered and finally opened, staring at Yuffie in confusion. "Aerith, what happened in here? Who did all this magic? Where's Sora? Answer me, Aerith. It's important," Yuffie asked insistently, shaking the other woman every time she tried to close her eyes. "Aerith, focus! Tell us what happened. Sora could be in serious trouble."

Yuffie's questions finally got through to Aerith. When she heard Sora's name again, she gasped and started crying, remembering all the things she'd said and done to Sora a few moments ago. "Oh god, I tried to kill Sora. I locked him in Cloud's room and tried to strike him with lightning magic. Sora summoned his keyblade to defend himself, and then everything went blank. I don't remember what happened after that."

Riku had lunged towards Aerith as soon as she'd admitted to trying to kill Sora, but Kairi had jumped in front of him to hold him back. "Let me go, Kairi," snarled Riku, trying to push Kairi out of the way without hurting her. "She tried to kill Sora. Are you going to just let her get away with that?"

"But it just isn't like her," said Yuffie in confusion. She'd known Aerith for years, and the other woman just didn't have a violent bone in her body. Something wasn't right. "Aerith, why did you attack Sora?"

"I don't know," cried Aerith. "Ever since the day after Cloud came back with Sora, I've just been consumed by rage. It just kept growing and growing until it completely overwhelmed me. It was almost like something was encouraging my anger, fueling it and making it stronger."

As Riku listened to Aerith, he felt his stomach clench. He knew that feeling far too well for comfort. "That sounds awfully familiar," he muttered softly, relaxing against Kairi's hold. "It sounds like someone was controlling you with darkness. Believe me, I know all the signs of that. All of the negative feelings you have just continue growing until they overwhelm you, forcing you to do things you normally would never even consider."

"Exactly," said Aerith softly.

"But who could have controlled you, Aerith?" asked Yuffie.

"I-I don't know," whispered Aerith. "I don't remember seeing anyone strange over the past few days. I don't even remember Sora leaving the room earlier."

"We didn't see him leave, either," said Yuffie. "He doesn't know how to teleport, does he?"

At Yuffie's last question, Riku and Kairi suddenly paled as a recent memory flashed in their minds. "Sephiroth!" they cried, remembering the winged man teleporting Sora out of Xanthus' castle. But he'd helped Sora then. Why would he try to hurt Sora now?

"He's trying to draw out Cloud," said Aerith quietly. "And of course, where Sephiroth leads, Cloud will dutifully follow." The last comment was uttered with a trace of bitterness, a sad smile twisting her lips. She realised that she no longer had a place in Cloud's life. She was tired of coming in second place in Cloud's priorities, and she wanted to find someone that would put her first for once.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" asked Yuffie cheerfully. "Let's go save Sora."

"Okay, but where do we start?" asked Kairi.

"I have no idea," said Yuffie sheepishly.

LSC

Sephiroth landed nimbly on the ground, pivoting on his foot to meet Cloud's downward strike. Pushing the enraged blonde back, the winged man attacked Cloud in a flurry of strikes that managed to nick and slice at him despite his best defenses. Fortunately though, the cuts were small enough to ignore for now.

"You've gotten weak, Cloud, and it's that boy who caused it," sneered Sephiroth disgustedly, gesturing towards Sora. "I will end his life now to make you a worthy opponent once more."

Sephiroth dashed towards Sora but found his way blocked by a panting and bleeding Cloud. "You will not touch Sora," growled the blonde.

"Do you actually love that creature, Cloud?" asked Sephiroth incredulously. "That's impossible. You have too much darkness in your heart to feel love for someone."

"That's not true!" yelled Sora indignantly, immediately coming to his friend's defense. "Cloud loves Aerith. Besides, everyone has darkness in their hearts. It's how we respond to the darkness that matters. Cloud doesn't let his darkness control him, and that is what makes him a better man than you."

Cloud felt the light buried deep within his heart pulse to life once more at Sora's defense. After all he had done to Sora, Cloud was amazed and touched that Sora still believed in him, still saw the good in him. "I do love Sora," said Cloud softly, feeling the truth in his words all the way to his soul. "His trust and love make me stronger, and I won't let you hurt him."

Sephiroth sneered at Cloud and attacked once more, striking at Cloud with murderous intent. Cloud was his pet. He'd spent too much time shaping and molding Cloud to his specifications, tainting his original purity, to allow anyone else to claim his prize. The only reason he hadn't destroyed that woman, Aerith, immediately was because he knew that she hadn't truly claimed Cloud's heart. But Sora was a different matter entirely. That wretched boy had taken Cloud away from him, and that was unacceptable. If he couldn't have the blonde, Cloud would have to die.

Cloud parried Sephiroth's attack, making sure to stay between the winged man and Sora at all times. Sephiroth flipped backwards to avoid Cloud's strike and jumped into the air, disappearing in a flurry of feathers. Cloud, anticipating such a move, knocked Sora out of the way and rolled behind Sephiroth just as he appeared where Sora had previously stood. Before the silver-haired man could turn to face the blonde, Cloud brought his sword down, severing Sephiroth's wing with one blow.

Sephiroth screamed in pain and fury, staring at his severed wing in disbelief as he felt the gaping wound on his back where the wing had been, completely unable to comprehend how Cloud had managed such a feat. Seeing the blood on his hand, Sephiroth growled under his breath. Cloud would pay for doing this to him. He lifted his sword once again and charged his adversary, slicing Cloud's left arm open. Cloud ignored the wound and quickly flipped behind Sephiroth, plunging his sword through the silver-haired man's back.

Sephiroth stared down at the sword protruding from his chest in astonishment. He looked up at Cloud with a thin trail of blood pooling from the corner of his mouth. "H-how did you defeat me?" When had Cloud become so strong? As Cloud removed his sword, Sephiroth fell to his knees.

"Because I have something you don't," said Cloud quietly.

"And what is that?" asked Sephiroth with a sneer.

"I have people who love me, people who believe in me and who are willing to share their light with me to keep my darkness at bay," said Cloud.

"Heh, love," mocked Sephiroth, coughing up blood. "Love is for the weak." Losing the last of his strength, Sephiroth fell forward and breathed his last breath.

Cloud stared dispassionately at Sephiroth's lifeless body, and all he felt was relief. "Is it really over?" asked Sora. Cloud turned to Sora, watching as the teen and Leon walked towards him. "Yeah, I guess it is?" he said softly.

"What will you do now?" asked Leon curiously.

"Well, the first thing I'm going to do is take Sora back to Merlin's house because I'm sure his friends are positively frantic by now, wondering if their friend is all right," said Cloud, grabbing Sora's hand and pulling him along. Leon just quirked an eyebrow and fell into step with the blonde. "And the next thing we're going to do is make sure Sora is the most pampered pet in existence."

"We?" asked Leon softly.

"Yes, we," said Cloud firmly. "Sora loves you, and you love Sora. I refuse to hurt Sora by keeping you apart."

"Sora loves you, too," said Leon.

"I know," said Cloud. "I feel deep in my heart."

"And Sora can hear every word you say, you know," said Sora petulantly. "And I'm not a pet despite the collar I'm forced to wear."

"Of course not," said Leon placatingly. "You're our little Leo-cub, our lover."

"I guess that'll work," said Sora softly. He then looked at Cloud. "What made you change your mind, though?" he asked curiously.

"Well, my little Leo-cub. The truth of my feelings hit me when I realised that Aerith was in that room with you. All I could think about was the fact that you were in danger, and I had to get into that room to save you," said Cloud quietly. "Don't get me wrong. I still care for Aerith, but I love her the same way I do Yuffie- like family."

"I'm glad to see you finally got your head out of your arse and realised just how special Sora is," said Leon bluntly. "As long as you continue to realise that, you and I will have no problems."

"I'm not special, Leon," Sora protested, blushing brightly at Leon's praise. "I'm just a normal teenager." Leon just laughed and grabbed Sora's other arm.

They finally reached Merlin's house and opened the front door. Sora suddenly found himself tackled to the ground by an exuberant Kairi. Riku just stood back with an indulgent smile.

"Oh thank god, you're alive, Sora," said Kairi, hugging Sora tightly in her relief. "We went to the castle postern, but you weren't there, and we were so afraid you'd never come back." She then leaned back and glared at Sora. "Don't you ever scare me like that again!"

"You should be used to it by now, Kairi," said Sora, climbing to his feet and helping Kairi to hers.

"Yeah, Kairi," agreed Riku. "You remember what Merlin said. Sora always manages to find trouble. We just have to accept it and hope for the best. Besides, now he has two more keepers, so we should be able to breathe a little easier."

"What's that supposed to mean?" asked Sora indignantly. Everyone just laughed at the little brunette, feeling lighter than they had in weeks.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Sora stepped into the bathroom and turned on the water to the shower. Stripping off his clothes quickly, Sora stepped under the spray of water, thinking of earlier that day. Kairi and Riku had informed him that they would be returning to Destiny Island at the end of the week. Sora was saddened at the news. They had just gotten here, and they were already planning to leave him behind again. This time, though, he would still be with people who cared about him.

Rinsing off the soap, Sora stepped into the bath and relaxed with a sigh. It felt like a lifetime had passed for him, and it had only been a little over two weeks. He could only hope that the next year wouldn't be so stressful. But then again, he had two masters to appease, so who knew? Speaking of his masters, Cloud had been upset earlier.

Aerith had pulled Cloud aside and told him she was leaving that afternoon. She couldn't deal with the fact that she had almost killed Sora because she knew that Sephiroth had only been able to gain control of her because of the darkness that had formed in her heart from her resentment and anger towards Sora. Sephiroth hadn't caused her to feel that way; he'd just made the already present feelings stronger.

Cloud was both relieved and upset at the news. He was upset because Aerith was his friend, and he still cared a great deal for her. But he was also a little relieved because at least one threat against Sora would be removed. In the end, though, he had little choice but to accept her decision.

Sora sighed again and settled deeper into the water, leaning his head back against the rim. He didn't hear the door open and nearly drowned in surprise when someone slid into the bath with him. Blinking water from his eyes and coughing harshly, he was astonished to see a familiar blonde in front of him.

"Cloud!" he gasped hoarsely. "What are you doing in here?"

"Taking a bath," said Cloud calmly.

"Sorry, I didn't realise I'd been in here that long," said Sora apologetically, reaching for his towel. "I'll get out now."

Cloud simply took the towel away from Sora and tossed it aside before pulling the brunette into his lap. "Stay," he said simply, holding the teen against his chest.

Sora was confused at the usually composed blonde's open affection, but he slowly relaxed in Cloud's arms, content to enjoy the feeling of being held so lovingly. He relaxed even more when the blonde began stroking a hand across the back of his neck. He was on the verge of dozing off when the hand stroking his neck swept down his back to rest on the curve of his hip. A sudden shifting of his bed, hands turning him so that he was straddling the body beneath him, had Sora's eyes popping open in surprise.

"Cloud?" he asked bemusedly, staring into the blonde's blue eyes curiously.

"I did promise to show you how much I loved you, Sora. All you have to do is enjoy," said Cloud, leaning forward and covering Sora's mouth in a kiss.

Sora instantly responded to the kiss, opening his mouth to allow Cloud inside, and wrapped his arms around the blonde's neck. As Cloud explored Sora's mouth with rapacious delight, Sora purred happily and buried a hand in Cloud's blonde hair, pulling the other man even closer. The kisses quickly consumed them, making them hungry for more, and Cloud broke the kiss to trail his lips across Sora's jaw and down the line of his neck.

Cloud suddenly stood up in the tub with Sora still held to him, legs wrapped firmly around his waist and arms clinging to his neck, and stepped out of the water. Completely disregarding the possibility of running into someone, Cloud walked out of the bathroom, dripping water everywhere, and carried Sora to his bedroom.

Sora couldn't believe that Cloud had carried him from the bathroom with both of them completely naked. What if someone saw them? Blushing furiously, Sora buried his face in Cloud's neck, desperately praying that nobody saw them. Fortunately, Cloud's room was just down the hall from the bathroom. Unfortunately, however, Sora's prayer wasn't answered.

Yuffie heard the bathroom door open and opened her bedroom door to make sure the bathroom was free. Her nose began to bleed, dripping down her chin unnoticed, as she watched a very naked Cloud carry an equally naked Sora down the corridor. Fucking hell! She felt faint when she saw Cloud's impressive erection bouncing against Sora's delectably pert arse with every step he took. Images of Cloud and Sora making hot, sweaty, passionate love assailed her mind, and Yuffie passed out from the onslaught to her senses.

Cloud heard a dull thud shortly after he passed and smirked. Yuffie was such a fan girl. Shouldering his door open, Cloud kicked the door closed, carried Sora to the bed, and tumbled onto the mattress, keeping Sora beneath him.

"I can't believe you just did that," said Sora, blushing in mortification. "What if someone had seen us?" With his face buried in Cloud's neck, he hadn't seen anyone else in the corridor, but he also hadn't heard anyone, either.

"Yuffie did see us," said Cloud calmly, grinding his hips against Sora's teasingly. "The little pervert got a nosebleed and passed out."

"Oh my god," moaned Sora embarrassedly. "I'll never be able to look her in the face again."

"Don't worry, Sora. By the time I get done with you, you won't even remember that it happened," said Cloud confidently.

Sora didn't see how that could be even remotely possible. He'd never been so embarrassed in his life. As he opened his mouth to refute Cloud's claim, the blonde covered his lips in a deep, hungry kiss. Once again, Sora found himself instinctively responding to the other man's voracious tongue, foraging greedily with his own.

DELETED SCENE- LINK TO FULL LEMON IS ON PROFILE PAGE

Sora collapsed weakly against Cloud, his arse throbbing from the pounding it had just received, and grimaced at the semen drying onto his skin. "Ugh, now we need another bath," he said softly, burrowing into Cloud's chest despite the mess.

"We can do that," said Leon cheerfully, climbing off the bed and pulling Sora into his arms. Like Cloud had done earlier, Leon casually opened the door, stepped into the corridor, and carried a furiously blushing Sora into the bathroom.

Yuffie, who had just regained consciousness from her last encounter with two naked gorgeous men, saw Leon step into the corridor with Sora in his arms, and her nose started gushing once more. A moment later, she hit the floor in a dead faint as her imagination supplied all the details to the two men's extremely disheveled state.

"So that's what happened earlier," said Leon offhandedly as Yuffie's body hit the floor. "She's such a fan girl."

364 days later

Cloud and Leon refused to let Sora out of their sight. That collar would come off any day now, and they were deathly afraid that Sora would leave them once he was free. Sora had tried to reassure them numerous times that that would not happen, but they seemed to think the collar was influencing his decisions for some reason.

That night, Cloud and Leon made love to Sora with a desperate hunger that left the teen pleasantly sore and stiff, barely able to walk the next morning. It took Sora a whole two hours after waking to realise that the collar had come off during the night. One he noticed, he whooped delightedly and ran to tell Cloud and Leon.

"Cloud, Leon, the collar came off last night," said Sora excitedly.

"That's great, Sora," said Cloud dully, dreading the moment when Sora decided to leave them.

"Yeah, great," said Leon bleakly.

"You know what this means, don't you?" asked Sora cheerfully.

"You're leaving us," said Cloud dismally, knowing the time had already come.

"Don't be daft, Cloud. I wouldn't leave you and Leon. I love you both too much to do that. What this means, my dearest loves, is that the spell is broken. We now have a life to live without Xanthus' interference," said Sora calmly.

"You still love us? The collar wasn't influencing your feelings towards us in any way?" asked Cloud hesitantly.

"Nope," said Sora happily.

"In that case, we should celebrate," said Leon smoothly, pulling Sora into his arms.

As Leon and Cloud started pulling off Sora's clothes, Sora cried, "I thought we were going to celebrate."

"What do you think we're doing?" asked Leon smugly, pushing Sora down onto the bed.

Right. Celebrating. 'He could go along with that,' he thought with a smile.

The End


End file.
